Eye of the Storm
by animalsarepeopletoo
Summary: When Stoick is trapped on Outcast Island during a hurricane, Hiccup mounts a desperate search to save him - but when he himself turns up missing, will his friends and family be able to rescue him before disaster strikes? {Hiccup!whump, Hiccstrid, father/son bonding, and more} RTTE-timeline. Cover by the AMAZING FanWriter02.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

 _Gods_ , Hiccup thought as he glanced out the window for the fifth time that night. _Where_ was _he?_ He was supposed to be back by now... Hiccup was getting worried.

Stoick the Vast, O Hear His Name and Tremble, Ugh, Ugh had departed to Outcast Island three days ago on chief business. Hiccup had been disappointed at his father's sudden departure - he and the other dragon riders had come back to Berk for Snoggletog, which was a mere two weeks away.

Hiccup was looking forward to spending a little bonding time with Stoick since he was always busy away on Dragon's Edge battling Dragon Hunters or discovering a new species of dragon. However, he needed a break, and was eagerly anticipating a quiet holiday at Berk. Well, as quiet as you could get on a island with the biggest tamed dragon colony.

But Hiccup was anything but relaxed now. His father should've already arrived. After all, he was due back to Berk earlier today. And Stoick's timing had always been impeccable - he was never late for anything. His tardiness unnerved his son.

The sky rumbled, and Hiccup was surprised that it hadn't started to rain yet. Just from looking at the dark clouds advancing on Berk, he knew this would be a lot bigger than most storms Berk suffered from. Something everybody liked to call...

...A hurricane.

Berk was quite used to bad weather. It rained. It snowed. It stormed. The island had nearly been destroyed multiple times from all of it, and the hurricane wouldn't have been a huge deal… and it wasn't, at least to the common Viking... But to Hiccup... well, the fact that Stoick would most likely be attempting to fly in it made his stomach churn with anxiety.

Hiccup sighed and started to pace the beaten down floor of his house. His Night Fury, Toothless, lay on the floor and watched his friend with wide green eyes.

"I… oh, I'm sorry, bud," said Hiccup, noticing Toothless's look. "I'm just worried about Dad. That's a big storm out there. It could kill a Viking if he flew deep enough into it."

Toothless crooned in an attempt at comfort. Hiccup smiled at the gesture, though his fears were not pacified. "Thanks. It's just, I - I'm sure he'll be alright, but isn't it a son's job to worry for his father?"

The dragon didn't have time to answer, for a hurried knock at the door interrupted their exchange. Hiccup walked over to see who had come calling at this time.

Eighteen year-old Astrid Hofferson stood in his doorway. "Hi, Hiccup," she greeted, smiling a little.

Hiccup tried to smile back, but he was too nervous to put much heart into the attempt. Astrid seemed to notice this, but she obviously had something she needed to tell him before she questioned what was going on with him.

"So, the Riders and I have put most of our dragons in the training academy to wait out the storm," said Astrid. "We don't need to worry about the others - the wild dragons here know how to survive bad weather already; and, plus, we don't have time to contain all of them before the hurricane hits. Everyone's heading to the Great Hall now till nightfall."

Hiccup nodded in relief at her report. Though he was acting chief at the moment, along with Gobber as a mentor, Astrid had fallen into place as his head organizer and confidant. Just like back at the Edge, she helped him with making decisions and actions when he needed her to. "That's good - thanks, Astrid. Sorry that I wasn't there to help. I just have… some other things on my mind at the moment. My dad... he was supposed to be back earlier, and he's never late, not even in bad weather. So I'm just... well..."

"Worried."

"I am."

"You're probably scared, too."

"A little," he said. When she tilted her head at him, he admitted, "Okay, I'm sort of freaking out." He'd only really had a father for three years - he couldn't bear it if he'd lose Stoick again.

"Don't be."

She leaned forward and gave him a long hug, surprising Hiccup. Sure, she had kissed him a couple of times - punched him ten times as many, at that- but other than those incidences, Astrid didn't give out too much open affection... even to her sort-of boyfriend.

"I - I - thanks, Astrid," he managed once she pulled away.

Astrid's eyes were fierce as she stared at him. "Stoick is one of the toughest people I know," she said, crossing her arms. "You think some storm is going to take him down?"

Hiccup straightened, meeting her gaze. "I guess not."

"Your father," Astrid continued, "has survived dragon raids, awful weather, being the chief of Berk - _and_ a father - and became a stronger person after it all. He's going to arrive here soon, unharmed, and you'll have been worrying for nothing. Got that?"

He nodded. "I think so."

"Good."

Astrid turned to leave the house, but Hiccup grabbed her arm to tell her something before she left. "Hey, Astrid… thanks."

"Sure," she said. "Meet me in the Great Hall in a little while. And I _mean_ a little while. No sitting around her, worrying about the chief. I suppose Toothless will be coming with you?" The other Riders had put their dragons in the Academy, but, as always, the proud black Night Fury was an exception.

Toothless snorted and climbed to his feet, his haughty expression clearly saying, _Of course I will_. Astrid and Hiccup laughed.

"He's stuck with me, I'm afraid," Hiccup chuckled. "See you later."

Astrid left after a moment, and Hiccup turned back to Toothless. Astrid had kept his concerns at bay for a few minutes, but they were slowly crawling back.

"What do you think, bud?" he asked the Night Fury. "Do you really think Dad'll be alright?"

Toothless nudged Hiccup's hand in answer, then started to lick it enthusiastically. Hiccup pulled away, groaning, "Toothless!" The dragon grinned gummily and slobbered on his friend even more, knowing how frustrated it made him. But frustration often turned to laughter with those two, which Hiccup needed right now. And Toothless was right - soon, Hiccup was grinning as he tried to fend off Toothless.

"Okay - okay, bud - TOOTHLESS! You can stop now, bud, I'm better! I promise!"

Satisfied, Toothless clambered over to the door. He looked outside at the storm, then back at Hiccup, shifting his wings hopefully.

Hiccup frowned and rubbed his dragon's head. "Sorry, bud, we can't do our flight today. We have to get to the Great Hall. With Dad gone, I'm sort of in charge. This'll be good practice for when I become chief." His mind wandered to that thought. For some reason, he hadn't been able to get it out of his mind lately. The prospect of becoming chief had always been far off into the future - far enough that he hadn't really considered it realistically. However, of late, the idea was becoming all too real for him. Something that he had been told to so many times it'd lost its meaning was returning with a dreary vengeance.

He sighed. "Well, Toothless, let's go."

But before they could leave, they were interrupted by a small Terror who tumbled through an open window. Hiccup caught it before the dragon could harm itself and was concerned to feel it shaking from the rain it was drenched in. It was clearly terrified.

"Woah! Hey - hey, it's okay, little guy, it's okay… you're safe now…" Hiccup brought it over to the fire, which was almost out by now. He threw a couple of logs in and sat by it with the Terror in his hands. Its shivering gradually stopped, and it looked up, its dilated eyes meek.

It was then that Hiccup saw a note was attached to the dragon's tiny foot. This dragon had been sent to give a message. _To me?_ Hiccup wondered. _Why in Odin's name is someone T-mailing me in this weather? And making this Terror go through that storm is just cruel._ He untied the soggy paper from the dragon and unraveled it.

The words were a little blurred from the rain, but the Terror had done a nice job of protecting it, and Hiccup could make most of the letter out.

It read,

 _Dear Hiccup,_

 _This will be short._

 _I hope this Terror finds you before the storm hits Berk. I hear it's growing across the Archipelago, and hope that this does not turn into something more dangerous than what it is now._

 _I am doing well on Outcast Island. Alvin is a great deal more hospitable, and we are getting along alright. How are you, son? I hope you and your friends are having a nice break._

 _I wanted to let you know that I'm going to fly back tonight, no matter the weather, with Skullcrusher. It's only a few hours of a flight, and though the storm with lengthen that distance, I know I will come back safely. Now, I know you, son - don't worry about me, Hiccup. I'll make it past. I sent this so you wouldn't be worried about my late arrival._

 _See you soon._

 _Regards,_

 _Stoick the Vast_

Hiccup swallowed once he finished reading, and set the note on the couch, trying to sort out his conflicting emotions. What could he be sure of...?

Well, his father was safe. For now. Hiccup prayed to the gods that he wouldn't try to fly through this weather at _any_ time. It was late afternoon, and Stoick said he would be flying back tonight. The hurricane didn't look like it'd clear up anytime soon, and Hiccup knew that even the chief of Berk wouldn't survive an attempt to ride it out.

But, alas, Hiccup couldn't do anything about it.

Sighing, he stroked the Terrible Terror in his hands. He could do one thing, though; Berk needed guidance and support to get through the hurricane both morally and physically, and Hiccup could at least give them that. He was the Chief's son, and was expected to help his people. He _wanted_ to help them.

The Terror peeked its eyes opened and growled, but in a friendly way. It was saying thanks.

"No problem, little guy. You okay now?" said Hiccup. The dragon gave a small nod. Hiccup, thinking, realized that he had never seen this Terrible Terror before.

"What's your name, buddy?" he asked it. "You got one?"

He felt stupid after asking; it was obvious it didn't - and even if it had one, how could it tell?

"Hmm…" Hiccup thought. "I wish I could name you Stormfly, since you flew through the storm, but that's Astrid's Nadder's name. How about… Comet? You had to be pretty fast to fly through this hurricane without getting hurt."

Comet rumbled in agreement. Hiccup smiled.

"I bet Astrid will like you," he chuckled. "Astrid and Comet… heheh." Hiccup stood and let the Terror nestle in his arms. "Well, Toothless, speaking of, we don't want Astrid getting mad that we're as late as my Dad. We'd better get going to the Great Hall. We can drop Comet off at the Academy on the way there."

Toothless grunted as they walked outside. Still carrying Comet in his arms, Hiccup boarded his Night Fury and they started to fly towards the Dragon Academy. It had been some time since Hiccup had visited there, because he was always at the Edge with his friends, and it was comforting to see that not a lot had changed in his absence.

"Here you go, little guy," said Hiccup as he opened up a pen for the little Terror to scamper into. With a grateful look, Comet leapt from his lap and into his new home. "Good luck getting through the storm, guys." He made sure to check on the other dragons before leaving, comforting the anxious ones and scratching nearly every beast's head in support. They were placated by the time Hiccup finished his rounds.

Hiccup walked over to mount Toothless, but was startled when a raindrop splashed on his nose. He wiped it away. He had to get to the Great Hall before the hurricane came through and he was stuck outside in the cloudburst.

"C'mon, bud," he murmured, squinting. "Let's get going."

They flew off just as it started to pour.

Hiccup and Toothless arrived at the Great Hall a couple of minutes later, sopping wet. Good-hearted Bucket was waiting near the door and offered him a blanket to dry himself off with. Hiccup gratefully accepted and started to squeeze water from his clothes and hair. Toothless merely shook the rain from his skin, making Hiccup even wetter than he was before.

By the time he was done scrubbing himself, Hiccup's hair was sticking up in all sorts of directions. Astrid laughed right to his face when she first saw him.

"What are you up to now, Hiccup, trying a new style?" she giggled.

Hiccup glared playfully. "Ha-ha. My style happens to be the latest trend of Berk." He sobered. "Is everyone here?"

Astrid nodded. "Yes. Everyone's safe, Hiccup. Relax for once."

They could hear the pounding rain even from inside. Hiccup was a little worried. The storm was supposed to get worse as the night went on. He wondered if the Vikings' houses would survive the winds predicted to sweep through and if he could make it back home for the night. After the Berkians collected some supplies from the Hall and talked with friends, they would too return to their houses just before nightfall.

His concerns soon relented once the Riders started to chat and crack jokes. Toothless eventually fell asleep by his rider's feet, his tongue lolling out in a way that made him look so silly that everyone, including Hiccup, laughed. He began forgetting his troubles.

Berk would be alright. _He_ would be alright. Stoick would come out of the storm just fine. He didn't need to fret.

And Hiccup wouldn't've fretted… if not for the desperate knock at the Great Hall's door.

Most of the conversation died as Bucket got up from a packed table to see who it was. Hiccup gasped when made out a familiar shivering figure hunching over on the doorstep.

"Johann!" cried Hiccup, and hurried over.

"Oh, thank the gods… Master Hiccup…" The trader coughed several times as he was helped in. Friendly Vikings gave him their blankets as he passed and sat him near the fire.

Hiccup watched Johann with anxiousness, sitting down next to him. He started to speak when the other man had stopped quaking. "Johann, what happened? Are you alright?"

Trader Johann wrung out his beard, dribbling all over the place. "I'll be fine, Master Hiccup. Just fine. But what has happened is just… well... _inconceivable_!"

Snotlout snorted from Hiccup's table. " _Of course it is_ …" His response was several shoves and glowers from his friends.

"What? What's inconceivable?" Hiccup said, ignoring his cousin.

"Well…" Johann took in a deep breath, like he was preparing to share a long story. "I was sailing North to a little island who simply loves my inventory - they're quite nice, you know, spending the time to talk a little instead of just buying and leaving. I actually-"

"Johann," interrupted Hiccup, squeezing his eyes shut momentarily. Johann was a nice man, but he talked to no end, and often derived from the subject of the matter he was speaking of. "Please. Just tell us what you saw. You were heading North, and…?"

"Oh." He blinked. "Yes. Well, yes, I was heading North, when I hit the most horrible weather- worse than here, mind you. My ship nearly capsized, and without my quick-thinking, I'd be at the bottom of the ocean! So I turned around and began to sail to Outcast Island, one of my favorite places to trade with, you know, besides your lovely island of Berk. And what I saw…" He shuddered in fear.

Hiccup's blood ran cold. His father was on Outcast Island. "Johann? What did you see?"

"The eye!" the trader gasped, suddenly terrified. "The _eye_ of the storm! It was right over Outcast Island! If anyone even went to the edge of their land…" Johann shivered again. "Odin help those poor people. I hate to say, it, Master Hiccup, and I truly do, but I have to wonder… will they survive the storm?"

Hiccup stood suddenly. Everyone could see his alarmed expression.

Johann looked up, confused. "Thor, what have I said? Oh, and where's the chief, Master Hiccup? I would think he would be the one to greet me after my long, exhausting adventure. Not that it wasn't an honor to be met by you, a charming and charismatic lad, you are…"

The young man blocked out Johann's chatter. He had to. Stoick was in danger. _Serious_ danger. He might lose his father because of this cursed storm. Stoick could be killed, and Hiccup would become parentless… this seemingly harmless hurricane had turned into something bigger than Hiccup could've ever imagined.

* * *

 **This is my first How to Train Your Dragon fanfiction! Whoo! I hope it's good.**

 **Upcoming: the focus of this story is shone on many different subjects, including father/son bonding (well, sort of, but Stoick's trapped on Outcast Island, so more of just angst XD), Hiccup!whump (I LOVE that stuff), Hiccstrid (YAY), and a bunch of Hicctooth (no slash, just brotherly fluff!) But the first chapter needed to be stressing on how worried Hiccup was about his father and all - I promise the plot will get more interesting with the next few chapters. So just hang tight, okey-dokey?**

 **Please review, favorite, or follow if you like this and want me to continue! If you're a fanfic author like me, you can understand how important it is to get feedback, even a hundred years after this is finished! This is going to be around 15 chapters. I'm planning out the last few chapters now, but I know where I want this to go.**

 **Also... can anyone guess the _other_ joke behind Comet's name? (Hint: Snoggletog.)**

 **Thanks for viewing!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! So, this is going to be one of the shorter chapters because it is 1:30 in the morning and I am** ** _exhausted_** **. Before you read, I'd like to congratulate _katurdi_ for being the only one to guess the joke: Snoggletog is our Christmas, and Hiccup named the Terror Comet. "You know Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen..." Great guess, katurdi!**

 **ENJOY CHAPTER 2!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2:**

"Hiccup?"

He felt a hand touch his shoulder, and turned numbly. It was Astrid.

"Hiccup… I'm sure they'll all be fine… the chief, too… he's always fine…"

But she didn't sound so sure.

Hiccup shrugged her arm off. "I-" he managed. "I need to think."

He walked off to a quiet corner of the Great Hall and slid his back down the wall. Toothless awoke at hearing his sigh and inched over to him, cooing in concern. Hiccup scratched his dragon's neck, but his mind was miles away on Outcast Island. He knew his friend was trying to comfort him, but just couldn't muster the energy to accept the affection. "I know, bud, I know… but, my father… I just…" _I can't lose him again._

Toothless licked his hand once, but settled down, understanding.

Hiccup sneezed into his elbow suddenly. "Excuse me," he muttered. "Must've gotten a cold from being in the rain earlier. Hope I don't get sick or anything-" He sneezed again, drawing attention to him.

"You alright, Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked, coming up to him. Meanwhile, Astrid was explaining Stoick's unfortunate predicament to Johann. Hiccup could hear the trader sympathizing the chief and repeating, _"Incon_ ceiv _able_!"

He rubbed his nose. "Yeah, I'm fine… I'll _be_ fine."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut followed Fishlegs from their table, faces almost... suspicious?

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, my young Hiccup," Tuffnut said, circling his friend and looking dubious. "Sneezing… needing to sit down… _runty size_ … the signs are all there."

Hiccup sighed, trying to fight his annoyance of being called 'runty'. "First of all, Tuff, I'm only sitting down because Toothless won't let me get up." It was true. The Night Fury's head lay heavily in Hiccup's lap, trying to comfort his rider. "But… gods, why am I asking this - signs for what, exactly?"

Ruffnut replied smoothly, "Why, Hiccup, I would think you would know the answer… the signs all point to…"

The twins clashed helmets, and together yelled, " _Dragoneaditis_!"

Hiccup and Fishlegs' eyebrows went up at the same time.

"Dragoneaditis?" said Hiccup, sharing a glance with his fellow _sane_ friend, who responded with wide eyes. "How do you, uh, get that?"

Tuffnut rolled his eyes. "By being a dragon freak, of course! It's a wonder you haven't contracted it already, spending as much time with dragons as you do. You're experiencing all of the regular beginning symptoms…" Suddenly intrigued, he gawked down at the other Rider. "Say, Hiccup - do you feel strange urgings to _fly_?"

"Of course he doesn't, knucklehead!" Ruffnut shouted. Hiccup was about to thank her for shutting down her brother's craziness until she added, "That's the _third_ stage!"

"Guys," Fishlegs said, "I know I'm going to regret this, but… what would happen if you did have, um… dragoneaditis?"

Tuffnut was ready with an answer. "Well, it's quite obvious! The name of the disease itself explains it… dragoneaditis. Dragon- _head_ -itis! My friend, I'm afraid in a very short amount of time you will turn into…"

Ruff and Tuff rammed their helmets together once more. " _A dragon_!"

Hiccup groaned. "For the love of…! Fishlegs, I'm think I'm going to go get some air. Just to be away from all of…" He gestured to the twins. " _This_."

Fishlegs nodded with understanding. "Sure."

Toothless, happy that they were going to go somewhere, allowed Hiccup to stand and walk towards the exit. Hiccup froze once he passed a group of paintings. When he turned, he felt a pang in his heart. The pictures were of all the past chiefs of Berk and their sons. At the very end of the row was Stoick and Hiccup, standing side by side with Stoick gripping Hiccup's shoulder fondly.

 _Miss you, Dad_ , thought Hiccup, touching the painting with a sigh. _I hope you're okay on Outcast Island… please survive… after Mom… you have to come back. I'm not ready to lose you yet._ He knew that sometime or another he'd have to lose his father, but the idea, just like the one of being chief, had never seemed real until now. And it frightened him.

He turned away, and was surprised to see Astrid there. She was watching him curiously, but with a hint of concern.

"Oh - hey, Astrid. Didn't see you there," Hiccup greeted. "Just, you know… looking around…"

"Uh-huh," she said, her brows pinching together. "Hiccup, you _have_ to stop doing this."

"Doing what, exactly?"

"Carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. It's not healthy, Hiccup - I'm worried about you. Look, I know _you're_ worried, and I know nothing I or anyone else says is going to convince you otherwise, but _Stoick will be okay._ Can you just say it once - try and convince yourself?"

Hiccup nodded. "My father... will be okay."

But, as soon as he said those words, he realized that that wasn't true. Stoick would _not_ be okay. One of the biggest hurricanes the Archipelago had ever faced was hovering over the island his father was on. If what Berk was suffering now was just the edge of the storm… gods, Hiccup couldn't even begin imagine what Stoick might be facing at the moment.

 _Dad needs help._ _Or I'm going to lose him._

He was then stunned with an idea so bizarre - so impossibly insane for someone like him - that he actually stumbled back, knocking the picture of him and his father from the wall. Surprised, he tripped on it only to land prostrate on the floor next to it.

"Hiccup, woah!" exclaimed Astrid, quickly helping him to his feet. "You okay? You kinda just fell back all the sudden-"

Hiccup's heart was beating fast... but now he knew what he had to do. He wouldn't lose another parent. No way - he would do anything in his power to prevent that from happening, even if it killed him in the process. This was the only option left. And even though it was crazy, didn't Hiccup's most successful plans sound rather mad at first?

"I'm fine," he said calmly, and picked up the painting he had caused to fall. He stared at it for a long moment, his gaze lingering on his father.

It was decided now. There was no going back.

He smiled up at Astrid, who looked shocked at his sudden change from nervous and clutzy to eerily unruffled. "I think that we should all try and head back to our homes now. We don't want to be running around in the dark, trying to find our way back during the middle of a hurricane. I doubt the storm will get much worse tonight, and we can always return here tomorrow."

Astrid nodded after a beat. "Oh-kay… I'll get their attention." Before Hiccup could stop her, she whirled on her foot to face the crowded room of Vikings.

"LISTEN UP, EVERYONE!" she bellowed, causing many to fall out of their seats at her loud voice. "HICCUP, SON OF CHIEF STOICK, NEEDS TO TELL YOU SOMETHING, SO QUIET DOWN AND _LISTEN_!"

With that, she came back to Hiccup and acted like she hadn't just scared the entire Berkian tribe by merely raising her voice. That was one of the things Hiccup was in awe of her for. He was naturally quiet, preferring to slip into the crowd than make a show, but Astrid was fierce and roaring. She'd never back down to anyone - a treasured attribute of any Viking.

"Alright!" Hiccup called, using a louder voice, but it came nowhere close to Astrid's volume. "Berkians, I believe it would be best if we all returned to our houses for the night. We don't want to hurt ourselves running around in the dark, and the sun is almost set completely. Head back to your homes now before the storm gets any worse! The supplies you've gathered here tonight should last you and your families a few days at least."

The crowd of Vikings soon obliged and started to file out of the Great Hall. As the door was opened, Hiccup heard the muted sound of rain grow suddenly much louder. He winced as he thought of walking around in that. But the Berkians were stubborn, and not one of his people complained as they hurried out into the storm with their blankets and extra stocks of food.

Hiccup watched them nervously. Once they were all home, he could enact his plan… and though he was serious about doing it, that didn't mean he was any less anxious about pulling it off.

"So, I guess that means you're going home, too, then?" said Astrid after nearly everyone had left. Only the Dragon Riders and a couple of others remained. Johann was staying with a Viking family kind enough to take him in for the night.

"Yep." Hiccup rubbed his dragon's head, expelling some nervous energy. "Um, just so you know, I think I'm going to be up late tonight, so if I don't come by first thing in the morning, I'm probably still sleeping. Lots to do with this hurricane, and all..."

Astrid gave him a strange look. Hiccup never slept in. Not that doing so now was a bad thing - if he wanted to, that was fine… at least he wasn't worrying about his father as much as before. Sleep might do him some good. "Okay. See you tomorrow, then."

Hiccup and Toothless bid their goodbyes to the others, who returned them (except Ruff and Tuff, who were watching him like they were waiting for him to sprout wings). Then they rushed out into the rain, Hiccup holding back sneezes, and Toothless flying as fast as he could.

The two barreled inside, ready for the warmth of a familiar place. Hiccup got the fire going nice and hot with a plasma blast from Toothless and leaned back on the couch. He closed his eyes.

"Bud, there's something I need to tell you."

And Hiccup told him. He told his dragon his plan.

He told him how he was going to sneak out tonight and fly towards Outcast Island to save his father. He explained that that was why he had sent all the Viking back to their homes early. And he described how that he'd give up at no cost.

Sure, his plan had flaws. It was crazy, stupid, and rather desperate. However, Hiccup just couldn't lose his father. No. Not yet. Not _ever_.

Toothless was against it. _Very_ against it. But Hiccup's mind was made up, and he threatened to use another dragon if Toothless refused to come. So, in the end, Toothless _had_ to agree. He'd never let his rider on another dragon if he could help it. They protected each other, and he was quite protective of his rider.

Hiccup began to pack his things. He took a couple of satchels with meals stuffed in them, a warm, hairy coat, changes of clothes, and his notebook. Once he was done, he drew a map of the Archipelago, pointing out Berk and Outcast Island, the distance between them, and ways to avoid the harsher parts of the storm while traveling. He wasn't satisfied till he had copied down his entire rescue plan on the sides of the paper.

He then wrote a short note buried in his bed for when someone found out he was gone. Hiccup basically wrote down that he would be fine and to not try and find him. He would be back within a couple of days.

Hiccup looked down at it all. It was done. He was packed; Toothless was all saddled up; the map was drawn, and route settled.

Now, was _he_ ready?

Well, he had to be. No one else was volunteering to go save Stoick, and he knew no one would before the storm died down. The job had fallen solely to him - and he was prepared to complete it.

"Okay, bud, I think we're all set to go," Hiccup announced, folding his map in two and placing it in his main satchel. He glanced out of the window and saw that the rain had not yet relented. In fact, it had only grown worse. "I hope the storm'll clear up as we fly. It's going to be tough in this weather. But, who's worrying - we're unstoppable, aren't we, Toothless?"

Toothless rumbled, nodding.

Before leaving, Hiccup took one last glance at his father's bedroom. A pang twinged his heart.

"I'll find you, Dad," Hiccup whispered into the empty room. Rain ripped at the windows, casting dancing shadows on the ground. "I promise. Family looks out for each other, and I'm going to do just that. I won't fail you. Not again."

He felt something lick his hand. Toothless. He was saying that it was time to go. Time to turn away.

Time to save his father.

"Let's do this, bud," said Hiccup grimly as the duo came outside. He shuddered when the sky rumbled, glad for his thick coat that would protect him from most of the rain. He slung himself over Toothless's back, his prosthetic leg clanking as it latched onto its place. "Let's go save my dad."

And, each taking in a deep breath, Hiccup and Toothless took off into the hurricane.

* * *

 **WOO! Getting some action here... I promise there'll be more coming in the future. I'm kinda horrible at getting things started, but once I get into things, I think I'll keep your attention!**

 **Thanks for reading, guys, and please review! :3**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Hiccup squinted into the clouds. It was pretty hard to see in the storm, but, luckily, it had stopped raining a couple of hours ago, somewhat clearly things up. However, judging from the raindrops Hiccup now felt pattering on him, he knew that the hurricane was far from over.

They had been flying through the night, and morning was right around the corner, though the hurricane's darkness had already shielded most of the light that had managed to peek through.

Hiccup patted his dragon, and had to yell to be able to be heard over the wind. "We'll stop to rest in a few hours when we see some land! You doing alright, bud?"

Toothless gave a grumble that Hiccup translated as, _Of course I'm not doing_ alright _. We're flying through a hurricane, for the love of Thor._

Hiccup sighed, feeling slightly guilty. "I'm sorry for forcing you into this, Toothless... but we have to go save my dad. He'll get killed if he even steps off the island and out of the eye. With our nimble aerial tactics, we can slip right in and rescue him. And, bud... you do know that when my father dies, I'll become chief?"

The Night Fury rumbled indifferently.

"Well...," said Hiccup, "when I become chief, I'll have to spend less and less time with you and more with my people. There'll be hardly anymore flights. I'll never have time to go back to the Edge or find new dragons. I couldn't even take care of _you_. Thor, _Snotlout_ would probably have to ride you for you to get enough exercise."

Toothless's eyes popped and his ear flaps shot up.

That was it.

Toothless liked Hiccup's cousin like he like an eel. Snotlout was constantly annoying Hiccup or reminding him of being "useless." He frustrated his dragon, Hookfang, to the point of setting him on fire. And plus... Snotlout _never_ scratched Hookfang on that heavenly part underneath his chin or babbled on about a new invention he was thinking of trying out. Toothless would _not_ be ridden by someone so... barbaric.

So the dragon snorted and leaned forward, pushing his dark wings up and down with a new energy. And even though Hiccup wasn't sure if it could be possible, Toothless seemed to be flying even faster than before.

* * *

"Hey," Fishlegs said to Astrid as she neared him, "have you seen Hiccup? I would think he'd be up and about by now."

It was late morning, and the storm was raging as hard as ever. Berk's people were advised to come to the Great Hall for the day, but it wasn't mandatory. The Dragon Riders were at the Academy, checking up on everyone's dragons to see how they had done during the storm. A few were still spooked, but the teens had calmed most of them down. They were still anxious to be let out because it was the time of year to go to the Rookery and lay the next generation of dragon eggs.

Astrid stroked Stormfly's soft spot, and her dragon moaned in delight. She wished she could let the Nadder out of the Academy, but even though it wasn't raining at the moment, the sky looked like it was about to let loose something bad. "Oh, yeah. He told me that he would be up late last night and would need to sleep in today..." Her brow furrowed as she repeated Hiccup's words, realizing how odd it sounded.

Fishlegs looked equally confused. "That doesn't sound like Hiccup at all."

"Well..." Astrid struggled for an explanation, but none came. Fishlegs was right. That really wasn't like Hiccup to ask ahead to sleep in. Usually, he was one of the first ones up and last to bed, always pushing himself to the breaking point in order to help his friends and his tribe. Hearing Hiccup ask for _anything_... well, it was like when Hookfang obeyed Snotlout: something that only happened once in a great while.

"Do you think he's okay?" squeaked Fishlegs. He began to stroke his Gronckle, Meatlug, nervously. "Oh, Thor, I should have noticed... I was talking with him last night, and he - he seemed... oh, Thor, oh Thor..."

Astrid wasn't prepared to jump to extreme conclusions just yet. "Fishlegs, I bet he's fine. Maybe he's working on an invention and didn't want to tell us about it yet."

He still seemed nervous. "I... well, maybe... but I still think I'm going to go see him, anyways. Make sure everything's alright."

"Alright," said Astrid. Her brow furrowed as she thought over the situation. This _was_ an odd predicament - and very out-of-character for Hiccup. Thinking over it again, she began to worry more seriously than before. Something wasn't right. She could feel it, deep down, like she did when she felt trouble brewing. And everyone knew that Hiccup was the Archipelago's trouble-magnet. "Do you mind if I come along? I wouldn't mind checking up on him either."

"Not at all."

Soon, Astrid and Fishlegs left Snotlout and the twins at the Academy. It took longer to get to Hiccup's house than usual from not having their dragons, but they eventually got there. It had started raining about halfway through the journey, so they were now soaked to the bone.

The door to the Haddock residence was shut and windows drawn. It didn't look very concerning, but the friends still felt uneasy as they knocked on the door. There was no reply.

"Hiccup?" Astrid called, pounding harder. "Is everything okay? Hiccup! If you're in there, open up!"

Still, no one came to answer the door. They stood there for a long minute, shivering in the rain.

"Is he not home, then?" wondered Fishlegs, rubbing his arms. "Maybe he and Toothless went out for a flight or something…"

"In this weather?" Astrid shook her head. "No. He couldn't. He _wouldn't_. Even the twins aren't that stupid. Well, maybe _they_ are, but _Hiccup_ wouldn't. He has to be inside… no one else has seen him today." She began to worry, mind jumping to conclusions. Hiccup could be in there, somehow hurt, and unable to respond...

Fishlegs trembled, swiping some raindrops from his face. "But, we can't get in. The door's locked, or something, so we need a ke-"

Before he could finish, Astrid lifted up her leg and slammed it against the wooden door. It fell to the ground with a resonating _thud_. Astrid didn't even smirk, too used to this kind of thing to really process what she was doing.

"Or, we could just do that," Fishlegs muttered.

Astrid wiped her hands and they stepped over the door to get inside

Hiccup's house looked eerily as it usually was. But, there was something off… Astrid couldn't quite put her finger on it. There was something wrong with this house… something... different…

"Hiccup?" said Fishlegs, looking around. " _Hiccuuuuuppppp_?"

The two searched the house through and through, but there was no sign of the Rider or his dragon. Hiccup and Toothless had simply vanished. Astrid couldn't believe it. Where was her friend?

"He's gone," Astrid said flatly, and plopped on a chair in the living room in defeat. She felt something papery underneath her and jumped back up, surprised. She was even more interested when she saw that she had sat down down on a letter. A letter... in the chief's handwriting?

Fishlegs saw it, too. "What's that?" he asked as Astrid grabbed it and began to read. Fishlegs watched anxiously, alarmed as her tight face fell into despair.

"What is it? Astrid?"

She, stony-faced, handed him the letter to read for himself. Fishlegs took it with shaking hands, expecting the worst, and gasped when he hit the bad part.

" _Stoick was supposed to fly back last night_?" he yelled. "Oh, Thor… that explains why Hiccup was so…" He whimpered as he held the paper close to him like he couldn't believe it.

Astrid sighed, grimacing. "I hope the chief will be okay, but we still need to figure out where Hiccup is. He could be in danger… Say he did go on a flight with Toothless. Can't you hear how much it's raining now? If they're out there…"

She was then hit with an appalling thought - so appalling that she had to sit back down and try to convince herself that Hiccup wouldn't do that. He _wouldn't._

"Astrid?" Fishlegs whispered. His horror-struck face made Astrid guess that he had the same suspicion as she did. "Are you thinking... what I'm thinking?"

Still shell-shocked, Astrid looked up and met Fishlegs' eyes. "I think... I think I am."

Fishlegs swallowed. "Oh, Thor."

Astrid stood and walked over to him, everything about her deathly serious. "Hiccup… Fishlegs, he must've sneaked out to save his father last night after sending everyone home. Gods, Hiccup, for someone so brilliant, you can really be _stupid_ …!"

Fishlegs picked up where she left off. "And _t_ _hat's_ why everything seems so wrong here… so bare... he probably took some supplies he'd need for the trip. I didn't check, but Toothless's saddle is probably gone, too… _oh, Thor..._ I know he's worried about Stoick, but he can't just fly off into the eye of a hurricane! That's just not logical! He should know better than that, even if it is his father out there... gods, and he didn't even tell anyone what he was planning to do... typical Hiccup... I just can't believe this."

Astrid had grown angry with Hiccup during Fishlegs' ramble. She couldn't believe it. How _dare_ Hiccup just vanish, worrying them like that! How _dare_ he not tell anyone what he was planning! Oh, when she got ahold of him, she'd-

"We've got to go find him," she announced, concern for her friend controlling her emotions. "He's going to get himself killed, the mutton-head."

Before Astrid could march back to the Academy and bring Stormfly out to go get Hiccup, Fishlegs stepped in front of her. "Astrid," he said, "we can't go now! You said it yourself - it's _pouring_ out there! We'll never make it. We need to wait until morning when it's clearer and we actually _have_ a plan - not when we're half-cocked and crazy. We can leave at first light, but we can't just rush into this; it's stupid-"

"Yet Hiccup did," said Astrid hotly.

" _Yes_ , and that was a huge mistake - but in order to save Hiccup, we need a _plan_." Fishlegs noticed that Astrid wasn't really listening to him anymore, too distracted with the present dilemma. "Hey. _Hey._ Astrid. Listen to me," he ordered, and his suddenly commanding voice made her turn and pay attention.

He continued, "Hiccup and Toothless are in danger because they didn't prepare. If we don't prepare, we'll be in the same boat with them and need saving ourselves. I want to save Hiccup, too. Believe me. But we _need..._ to _think_."

Some sense was knocked into Astrid at the consequential words of Fishlegs. She eventually nodded, though the motion was hesitant. "I... okay. Let's go tell the others, and start to get ready." She pushed a menacing finger against Fishlegs' chest, making him gulp. "We're leaving the _moment_ the sun comes up, you hear?"

"Yep," he squeaked.

With one last glare, Astrid rushed out of the house, upset at the unfortunate turn the day had taken. Now both of the Haddocks were missing and in serious danger.

 _Oh, Hiccup_ , she thought, her eyes stinging from unshed tears. _You better be okay, you big idiot. You just_ have _to._

Meanwhile, Fishlegs stood inside, still holding the letter. He glanced at it with a sigh, then tossed it back on the couch.

Hiccup was Fishlegs' first best friend (besides Meatlug, of course - his precious girl would always be number one in his heart), and Fishlegs was glad that finally _someone_ appreciated wisdom and smarts. With Hiccup, he could be himself, and could finally… well, geek out. He couldn't imagine going back to square one, again alone in his joy of learning.

"Odin, you'd better help my friend," muttered Fishlegs, "or he's not going to make it." It was true. A logical person like Fishlegs knew the odds of surviving a long flight in a hurricane were not very good.

Though Fishlegs hadn't told Astrid, he knew what the outcome would be if Hiccup kept flying towards Outcast Island. The winds were just too strong. The rain too endless. Even if Hiccup _did_ make it to his father ( _which_ , Fishlegs thought, being the voice of doom he was, _is_ highly _unlikely_ ), he would probably have some nasty illness from being in the cold and rain too long.

However, this was _Hiccup._ The guy who'd survived fifteen years of endless taunts and ridicule. The one who'd escaped death more times than he could recall and made it out overall okay. For that, Fishlegs had to give credit. Hurricanes were strong, but maybe Hiccup was stronger.

For now, all he could do was hope.

* * *

Hiccup pointed to the blurry shadow in the distance.

"There, T - Toothless!" he yelled to his dragon, stammering as he shivered. "Land, a - ahead, I think? Give us some light, b - bud, and we'll ch - check it out!"

Toothless sent a plasma blast out in the torrential rain, which had come back with a whole new level of force a couple of hours ago. In the light, Hiccup's suspicion was confirmed. There was a small island up ahead.

"Alright, b - buddy, let's l - land over there!" said Hiccup, and Toothless started to fly towards it. They touched ground a couple of minutes later. Hiccup slid off his dragon and grabbed his things from Toothless's saddle. The skins of the satchels were soaking wet, and Hiccup hoped no water had leaked inside. He'd be in trouble, then, with no food or supplies.

Toothless was quivering badly in the cold. So was Hiccup - probably more than the Night Fury. "H - how does finding some s - s - shelter, sound, T - Toothless?"

The dragon's look of relief made want to Hiccup laugh, but he sneezed three times in a row instead. His cold must've gotten worse since coming out into the hurricane. How fortunate for him.

"O - okay. Let's lo - look a - around."

Hiccup and Toothless started to search for a suitable place to break camp for the night. Or rather, the afternoon; because neither of them had slept last night, it truly felt like it was time to get some rest. The dark sky helped the nighttime mood.

Toothless suddenly began to grunt and prod Hiccup's arm with his nose. Hiccup turned to see Toothless indicating a patch of caves a couple of yards away. They were so hidden by moss and vines that Hiccup would've missed it if not for his dragon's keen eyes.

"G - good job, T - Toothless," he smiled, and the two made their way inside the caves. The vines blocked out the rain, and the ground was blissfully dry. They walked for some time until they hit a warmer part of the cave and decided to settle there. Hiccup removed his boot, dumped out the water filling inside of it, and took off his sopping coat.

Toothless was blowing a low flame at the rock, circling it, and standing nearby to dry off. Hiccup joined him, and the two sat together, side by side, waiting for their clothes and scales to dry off.

Hiccup felt sleepy at his dragon's side, finally safe and warm. The thought of going back outside into the cold and wet weather made him want to curl up in a ball and never get up.

"Thanks, bud," he murmured, "for doing this. I know coming along was hard, and I truly do appreciate it."

His Night Fury snorted heavily through his nose and glanced down at Hiccup with his enormous green eyes. The message was clear: _I only did it because I didn't want to be ridden by_ Snotlout. Which was a fairly good motivation, Hiccup admitted with a slight laugh.

The boy settled closer to the fire, trying to absorb its heat. It still wasn't enough to keep him from quaking, though. He lay trembling for a long minute. Then, suddenly, he felt a pleasant warmth cuddle around him. Toothless was trying to help him.

Hiccup smiled and patted Toothless again, this time with more languor. He yawned, barely keeping his eyes open. And snuggled together in a cozy ball, Viking and dragon drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Hiccup woke up with a warm feeling. He didn't want to get up, but the omnipresent thought of Stoick trapped on Outcast Island made him sit up and rub his tired eyes. Even if he wasn't ready to face the day, he had to be.

"You sleep well, bud?" he asked, eyes still shut as he yawned. "I did. Even my cold is a little better."

There was no rumbling reply from his dragon. Curious, Hiccup looked around and found that Toothless had... disappeared.

Alarmed, Hiccup jumped up, calling his friend's name in panic. _Oh, no_ … A thousand possibilities thundered around through his head. Toothless was hurt, Toothless was kidnapped, Toothless was lost… he could barely handle the stress. His father was gone, and now Toothless, too…

"Toothless?" he cried, stumbling around. " _Toothless-!_ "

Hiccup hear a familiar roar and nearly wilted with consolation. It was his dragon calling. He sounded like he was coming down from the seemingly endless tunnel they had walked through last night. Hiccup ran further down it, searching for the Night Fury. Where was he…?

An indistinct black figure slammed into Hiccup, causing him to fall down. He groaned when he collapsed on the ground. Toothless stopped short behind him.

"Did you really have to do that, bud?" said Hiccup, trying to get up, but he fell back again as Toothless grabbed his shirt with his teeth and began to drag him down the tunnel.

" _Agh_! Stop! Toothless! What are you - let me go!" he yelled, trying to get his dragon to release. He didn't, however, and just kept running.

Suddenly, Hiccup heard a painfully loud roar that made him stop grasping for holds on the ground and reach up to clamp his ears.

Hiccup would recognize that bellow anywhere, but he kept on trying to tell himself it wasn't possible… even _his_ luck wasn't that awful…

Toothless skidded to a standstill near their camp and started to growl, totally aware of the danger they were now in. Hiccup watched in horror as a gigantic blue Thunderdrum emerged from the shadows and roared once more.

* * *

 ** _Cliffhanger_** **! *sniggers* Heh, I just wanted to do that to you guys at least one more time right now. Cliffies are so fun.**

 **Hey, let me know in the reviews how you think of this story, or what you want to happen. Some Hiccup!whump? More Hicctooth? A Stoick POV? Feel free to ask for anything, and I'll try and work it in! :-)**

 **Second, thank you all for taking time out of your busy lives to read my story. It means a lot to me. Whether you post a review every chapter, have followed this, or just quietly read, I appreciate every single one of you.**

 **See you next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

Toothless reacted immediately, jumping in front of Hiccup to shield him. The dragon's eyes narrowed in anger and he opened his mouth, ready to let out a dangerous plasma blast.

"No, bud - _no_!" Hiccup cried, stepping in front of him. "We'll never kill another dragon! We need to pacify if we're going to stay here!"

Toothless came back to himself at his rider's plea. He grunted in question of what they should do.

The Thunderdrum barreled towards them before they could come up with an answer, and Toothless barely got Hiccup out of the way in time. Hiccup struggled to stand, his prosthetic clanking on the rock below as he got his feet underneath of him. He and Toothless exchanged a panicked glance as the Thunderdrum wheeled around to their spot, snarling.

"What do you say we get out of here, bud?" said Hiccup. It was a loss, abandoning all of their supplies, but surviving seemed the more favorable option in this situation. At Toothless's more than enthusiastic nod, he jumped on his dragon's back and they started to run from the other dragon. The Thunderdrum boomed, and Hiccup grimaced at the noise, but he was too busy helping Toothless navigate to cover his ears.

The Thunderdrum chased them down the tunnel. It was fairly dark, however, and Toothless kept stumbling over stray rocks that were littered around. The sea-dragon came concerningly close to them when they tripped over a group stalagmite for the third time.

"Toothless, give us some light!" Hiccup called, leaning forward to talk to his dragon. "We'll never escape like this!"

Toothless growled, then shot out a soft plasma blast to light up the rest of the tunnel. Running was much easier now, because they could see the hidden obstacles before crashing into them. Unfortunately, their light wasn't only beneficial to them; the Thunderdrum was now quicker and more determined than ever now that it could see as well.

Hiccup spotted another way to go than straight - a second tunnel on his left led to Odin knew where. But it was better than this endless, monotonous chase.

"Bud, this way!" He pointed to the other tunnel. Without losing a step, Toothless stampeded down it, gaining speed in his burst of adrenaline.

The Thunderdrum was momentarily confused at the change of direction, but it soon settled into the change and picked up its pace. Hiccup bit his lip, his mind racing with thoughts of how to get the Thunderdrum to stop chasing them without hurting it… speaking of Thunderdrums chasing him, why in Thor's name was it after them in the first place? They hadn't done anything to harm it… well, he'd have to figure that out a little bit later. He was a bit busy at the moment.

Hiccup squinted down the tunnel, trying to see further ahead. He was surprised at what he saw.

"Toothless - _watch out_!"

The tunnel led to a spacious room. It would've been okay… except for the fact that there was a gaping hole in the middle. Toothless barely avoided toppling into it, and Hiccup's breath caught in his throat. _They had_ _almost fallen through_.

"You alright, bud?" he asked a panting Toothless. His dragon looked unnerved as he stared down at the hole. He was acting like something was wrong - almost like he thought something was down there. Hiccup waved it off as Toothless being ruffled from almost falling down the void.

From behind them, the Thunderdrum roared in triumph. Hiccup's head whipped around as he realized that he had just led Toothless and himself to a dead end. "Oh, Thor..." He'd really messed up this time.

He faced the hole again. They couldn't go further in the cavern, because there wasn't enough room outside of the pit to stand… but that wasn't what was bothering Hiccup… there was something familiar about the hole… the tunnel… what was it? The hole seemed… almost like it had been dug by something… something... oh, gods, why couldn't he remember?

The Thunderdrum suddenly leapt at Hiccup and Toothless, knocking them over. Because they were standing at the edge of a pit, all three of them tumbled down - and in the process, Hiccup was knocked from Toothless's back. He yelped as he fell and clawed the air for Toothless. His dragon, desperate to save him, tried to reach his rider in time. He managed to grab him right before they hit the dirt.

 _THUD_! Toothless's body slammed to the ground, and he started to roll. Hiccup felt some of the impact burn into his back, and he was paralyzed for a couple of seconds. He groaned as feeling came back to him, but quickly shook it off. Toothless released him from his talons and Hiccup stood and brushed dirt from himself. His dragon soon followed suit.

Too close for Hiccup's liking, the Thunderdrum was climbing to its legs, snarling. Its mouth was open, revealing rows and rows of gritty, sharp teeth. Hiccup and Toothless were of the same mind and turned, starting to run down the tunnel. It had a lot of passages, like some underground network. For a reason unknown to him, this troubled Hiccup, though again, he couldn't remember why.

"Toothless!" he gasped, straining to keep up with the Night Fury. "We need a plan! We really can't get out of here without the Thunderdrum letting us through - I'll have to train it or something! But I don't know how much time we have. I've got a bad feeling about this place, but I don't know why..."

His dragon snorted once and glanced around. He, too, seemed agitated by this tunnel, perhaps even more than Hiccup. Why couldn't he remember what this reminded him of? It was in the back of his mind in a clutter of other dragon facts he'd stuffed away... he tried to pull it out now, but for the life of him, couldn't manage to clear his head enough to look for the answer.

Suddenly, he felt an odd sort of shaking beneath his feet, almost like a small earthquake. It came from up ahead and back to the Thunderdrum. The ginormous dragon stopped in its tracks once it felt it, and gave a low, suspicious growl. Hiccup was surprised. Why had one small earthquake unsettled a monster as ferocious as the Thunderdrum?

The trembling came back once more, and this time Hiccup fell to his feet. Toothless didn't see him collapse and kept running, only to look to his side and see that his rider had vanished. Panicked, he turned back and saw Hiccup a little ways away, struggling to stand up.

And then Toothless noticed that the Thunderdrum was sneakily advancing behind him.

Toothless roared out a warning and started to charge towards Hiccup - but then the biggest jolt yet knocked _him_ down. The ceiling started to crumble in front of him, and poured out rocks and dust that barricaded him from Hiccup. Toothless sneezed out debris and howled in fear for his friend.

Hiccup was beyond his help. He was alone and possibly hurt with an angry Thunderdrum ready to kill him at his first move. Though his rider had done some pretty crazy things, he doubted he'd pull out of this one unscathed...

And yet he was helpless. His best friend was going to die... and there was nothing he could do.

* * *

Hiccup coughed. And coughed. And coughed some more. He couldn't stop, as the dust from the rocks that had fallen had been inhaled, and his system was trying to get it out.

Once he had finally finished hacking, he groggily stood, feeling dizzy and slightly sick. Where was Toothless? He looked around and saw that part of the tunnel was blocked out by rocks and debris. _Oh no, oh no…_ Toothless must've been on the other side! He touched the rocks, ready to dig through to reach his friend.

But then he heard a whimper behind him and pivoted around to see the Thunderdrum that had chased him lying prostrate on the ground. It seemed to be caught under a fallen rock that pinned its leg down. When it saw Hiccup staring, it snapped, telling Hiccup not to come any closer.

Hiccup's head pounded from the fall... and an idea. This dragon needed help. Maybe… if he helped it… maybe it would trust him. Maybe they could _all_ make it out of this alive, and as friends. His father had owned a Thunderdrum, so he knew it wasn't impossible to train one. However, he knew he had his work cut out for him.

He knelt a good couple of yards away from the Thunderdrum and studied it. Its size was bigger than Stoick's previous dragon, Thornado, and made Hiccup guess that this was a female, as the girls were bigger in the Thunderdrum breed. He spoke in a soft voice, though he knew Thunderdrums were nearly deaf. Hopefully, she'd just see the kindness on his face and not attack.

"Hey, girl... it's okay, you don't need to growl. I'm Hiccup. I know you're hurting, but all I want to do is help," he explained, trying to make himself sound as non-threatening as possible, which wasn't that hard. "If you want, I can remove the rock. I know, I know, look at me. I'm sort of a walking fishbone. But I'm stronger than I look, and together, we can do it. I know we can. But you're going to have to trust me."

The Thunderdrum stared at Hiccup with cautious yellow eyes. Hiccup moved a little closer, and was pleased to notice that she didn't growl at him.

"I have a dragon. His name is Toothless. If you ask him, he'll tell you that I'd rather die than hurt a dragon. People sometimes call me the Friend of Dragons, because I'm the one who showed Vikings that dragons won't hurt us if we don't hurt them." The words flowed easily out of him, calm and true. The Thunderdrum listened closely, and Hiccup could've sworn that this dragon could hear him.

Hiccup continued. "I lost my leg in order to prove that, you know." He showed his prosthetic, which the dragon regarded with a large sniff. "It was painful, too. I see that your leg probably hurts, too, right?"

She grunted.

He moved even closer. He could reach out and touch her by now. _Almost there_ … "I'm sorry, girl. I know it hurts. If you would like, I can help you. Can I move it?" He waited for a long moment, sweat breaking through his skin in his anxiousness.

The Thunderdrum nodded.

With a large grin, Hiccup scooted over to the rock that was lying on one of the dragon's legs. "Alright," he said. "We're going to need and work at the same time. You push, and I'll pull. That way, I can drag the rock from your foot, and you'll be free. Ready?"

Seeming to get the general idea, she signaled that she was ready to push, Hiccup started to pull. Hiccup had been working in the forge since he was very little, and though he didn't have rippling muscles like Gobber did, he _had_ grown stronger from having to deal with weapons and later on other things once he'd started living at the Edge. A minute later, the rock was off of the Thunderdrum.

She slid her leg back into her body and gave a low rumble of thanks.

"Of course. I'm a Dragon Rider; it's what I do," Hiccup smiled. "Do you have a name?"

A shake of her head.

"Huh…" He sat back on his heels. "Do you _want_ a name?"

She snorted questionably.

"Alright. I'll see what I can think of… how about… um… well, we met during a hurricane, and you've got a really loud voice, so how about Stormshout? You can always be heard, even in the middle of a hurricane."

The Thunderdrum surprisingly inclined her head to show that she liked the name. Hiccup was amazed. This dragon really _could_ hear him. This was fascinated. A Thunderdrum that wasn't deaf? Well, you learned something new every day..

"Well, then, Stormshout," said Hiccup, "do you want to get out-"

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the mysterious shaking that shuddered the floor. Stormshout let out a resonating _boom_ and Hiccup winced. "Could you not - _oh gods_ -!"

In front of the two, a hideous green monster had broken through the floor's surface, creating _another_ hole they were in danger of falling through. Hiccup recognized the dragon immediately, and cursed himself for not realizing it earlier.

 _This is a Whispering Death tunnel!_

* * *

Toothless was digging. His talons were all extracted and he ripped furiously at the dirt… he had to save Hiccup… he had to find his rider…

His paws were tired from moving so fast and so thoroughly, but he kept working. Because he wouldn't lose Hiccup.

He wouldn't lose his friend. He couldn't.

Rocks continued to fall.

* * *

"Oh, gods… my luck has come back to haunt me..."

Hiccup stumbled back as the Whispering Death hissed. Suddenly, he was fifteen years old again and facing it for the first time. His mind raced… what to do, what to do… let's see… _weaknesses._ It was all about finding the enemy's weaknesses, not trying to defeat their strengths. That was the key to defeat.

Whispering Deaths were sensitive to light. With enough of it, maybe they could make it disappear again. Hiccup turned to tell Stormshout this, but she was opening her mouth, ready to let out a boom that would knock anybody dead… except a Whispering Death.

"No!" Hiccup shouted, racing in front of her. "Whispering Deaths don't care about noise! Sound won't work. But, these things hate light. You have fire, Stormshout. Can you use it? It may scare it away."

Stormshout seemed momentarily annoyed that she couldn't use her favorite death roar. At her hesitation, the Whispering Death came closer, about to tear him apart. Remembering Hiccup's previous help, she sent rings of fire flying towards the Whispering Death, which scared it off. The other dragon howled and dipped below the earth again.

Hiccup looked at Stormshout with wide eyes. She had just saved his _life._ He was a complete stranger... and yet she had taken action against the monster.

...Speaking of the dragon, Hiccup could hear it moving below him again. _That's_ what had knocked him over before. He and Stormshout stood close as they felt the ground tremble as it darted around.

It broke through again, this time in a closer spot. Stormshout sent more fire at it, but it just screeched and dodged and started flapping towards them again. So Hiccup did the very thing he had done four years ago: he ran.

Stormshout followed him immediately and they tore down the not-blocked side of the tunnel. But the Whispering Death was used to this network and was quick, if not quicker than them. It caught up with the two and howled. Suddenly, Hiccup felt something knock him over, and he was thrown to the ground. He struggled to face whatever had slammed him down, and succeeded to rolling on his back where he looked at the scene before him. He wished he hadn't.

Because the Whispering Death hovered right on top of him, its round mouth sparkling with teeth ready to shred him apart.

* * *

Astrid signed the note with a small flourish and held it up for her friends to examine. "Does this sound right?"

Fishlegs grimaced. "There is no right way to tell a man that his son's gone missing…"

The Dragon Riders were all set to go find Hiccup. Everything was packed, dragons saddled, and families kissed goodbye. Now, standing in front the Dragon Academy, they were going to send Terrible Terror Sharpshot with a letter to Stoick. Reports from the North said that the eye of the storm was still around Outcast Island, but had moved on a little. That meant the area of peacefulness was leaving the island, bringing on heavy rain and wind that could kill.

Ruffnut stepped up. "If Stoick wants, he can have Tuff as his new son!"

Tuffnut nodded eagerly. "I can be like Hiccup!" He changed his voice a nasally quirk that, to be honest, sounded a bit like Hiccup. "' _I'm a_ friend _of dragons! I lost my left leg! Tuffnut is my role model_!'"

Astrid shot the twins a glare. "I told you muttonheads already - cut it out! This is serious."

"Yeah," said Snotlout, even though he had been snorting right along with them. "Cut it out."

Astrid handed her letter to Fishlegs, who started to tie it to Sharpshot's leg. She rubbed her arms nervously. It had been over a full day since she had seen Hiccup. Laughed at his sarcastic remarks. Punched his arm playfully. Even though they'd been separated longer than this, she still missed him so much knowing the danger he was in and prayed to the gods that he was alright. Well… she didn't exactly _pray_. She threatened them that if they didn't help Hiccup, they would be met by the wrong end of her axe. Even if the gods _were_ immortal, she'd find a way to make them pay if Hiccup was hurt.

Fishlegs patted Sharpshot with a murmured thanks and let him fly off. It was a risk sending a tiny dragon into a huge storm, but with Sharpshot's experience and skill, they thought he could make it. He was small enough to make it through the hurricane, and strong enough not to be blown away.

"The sun's coming up," Fishlegs told Astrid. "Is everyone ready to go?"

Everyone made some indication that they were all geared up. Astrid turned her fierce eyes to the storm looming on the horizon. Who was more stubborn? She, or the hurricane? Astrid promised herself that she would be the victor of this fight. She'd win the prize: her dragon boy.

"Alright, then," said Astrid, patting Stormfly. "Let's bring Hiccup home."

* * *

He was going to die.

 _Hiccup was going to die._

He couldn't stop gaping, paralyzed. He never thought he'd go down like this. Maybe at the hands of an enemy leader saving his tribe, or peacefully in bed when he was ninety or so. But not like this. Not by a dragon.

All he could do was stare at the Whispering Death's teeth. Rows and rows and rows of them. They were coming towards him. Slowly. Huh. That was odd.

He thought he heard a roar somewhere behind him, but the teeth kept on coming and that was all Hiccup could focus on. A ripple of thoughts and regrets spilled from his head. _Dad, I'm so sorry. I tried to save you. I really did. Gang, you're going to kill me for dying. Toothless…_ That was one goodbye he couldn't finish. Toothless had been the first one to understand him. The first one to be his friend. He hadn't judged him as incompetent just because he wasn't as big or burly as the other Vikings.

He sighed. _You're the best, bud. Sorry it had to end this way._

Just before the Whispering Death's teeth punctured his chest, a blur of black leapt in front of him and knocked the dragon away. Hiccup was too stunned to register the turn of events. He didn't dare hope… it couldn't be…

 _Toothless?!_

His Night Fury moved so quickly, Hiccup couldn't make out his familiar features. But he knew it was him. And that was all that mattered.

Stormshout waited near Hiccup, baring her teeth if the Whispering Death decided to come closer. He was surprised to see she hadn't yet fled. She seemed almost concerned for him, and Hiccup wanted to smile. He had trained another dragon, even facing death. Just another day in the job.

Hiccup sat up to watch Toothless fight. He was truly amazing, and Hiccup now fully understood the rumor about Toothless being the offspring of lighting. His dragon was quick, sharp, and most of all, _dangerous_. Soon, the Night Fury fought the Whispering Death back into the ground with a satisfying last plasma blast. The earth beneath them quaked as the dragon zoomed far, far away from them.

Toothless turned to look at Hiccup, his mouth agape in a toothless grin. Hiccup rushed forward and hugged him, murmuring, "Thank you, thank you, _thank you_ …" He felt Toothless lick his hand, and gave a smirk.

Hiccup heard a low rumble behind them and untangled himself from Toothless. He gestured to the Thunderdrum, who was watching them nearby. "Hey, bud, I want you to meet my new friend, Stormshout…"

* * *

Long story short, it was all Toothless's fault.

The dragons had managed to explain what had made Stormshout angry with them using gestures and leading Hiccup different places to give him a visual.

Apparently, Toothless had woken up before Hiccup did and decided that he would surprise his rider with a nice breakfast. Toothless had ventured down the tunnel and came across a nest of eggs. He wasn't going to mess with them, but Stormshout had been lurking in the shadows and assumed the worst for her children. She attacked Toothless, and Hiccup knew the rest. Though Thunderdrums held long grudges, she knew now that the other dragon hadn't meant any harm and forgave him. Mostly.

Hiccup and Toothless were now preparing to leave. All of their things were collected and wounds patched. Toothless had earned a nasty gash on his paw from the battle with the Whispering Death, but was alright. The Night Fury was just tired from the fight, and Hiccup was beyond relieved that it wasn't anything worse.

Hiccup scratched his dragon's neck and grinned when Toothless purred back, leaning into his hand. Stormshout looked upon them from the side, and Hiccup walked up to her and gave a small bow.

"Thank you for saving me from the Whispering Death," said Hiccup, remembering when Stormshout had blown fire to keep the underground monster away from him. "I hope your eggs will hatch alright. You can always bring them to my village's Rookery, the Berkery. Our dragons go there this time of year to lay. You'll be welcomed there."

Stormshout nodded once, seeming pleased at Hiccup's bow.

Hiccup returned to Toothless's side and hopped on. "Well, it's time to go, bud. Is your paw doing okay?"

Toothless snorted in reply and licked Hiccup's hand, which was patting his head. Hiccup shouted a goodbye to Stormshout, which she returned with a roar that Hiccup did not cover his ears to. It was just a farewell, no matter how painful it was to listen to. Hiccup and Toothless glided outside, back into the rain and back into the storm.

Even though they were flying into some serious trouble, Hiccup wouldn't've turned back. No. Because Viking's had stubbornness issues. And though that could be bad sometimes, it was an occupational hazard. One that Hiccup would never give up.

* * *

 **Before you go, please leave a review! I feel like a little kid on Christmas when I find a review in my inbox. And it also keeps me updating quicker with your guys' support.**

 **I hope you liked Chapter 4! Thanks for reading, guys, and see you next update! ;-)**


	5. Chapter 5

**402 VIEWS, GUYS. 402.**

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 **Thank you all so much, and I hope you're enjoying Eye of the Storm! Chapter 5 will have some father/son feels. Not too much Hicctooth, though. I decided to change it up a bit. Sorry if it seems a bit rushed, but the first part ended up being WAY too long, so I needed to quicken the ending.**

 **Enjoy, everyone!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5:**

"Oh, Alvin! You're hilarious!"

Stoick the Vast laughed heartily and took another swig of his drink. In front of him, Alvin the Treacherous chuckled and did the same.

With the hurricane preventing Stoick from leaving Outcast Island, it had been a 'long weekend'. Stoick had been there for nearly week so far. Though it was good to catch up with Alvin, he missed his son and wanted to go back to Berk. Skullcrusher, too seemed lonely from the lack of dragons running around Outcast Island. The two chiefs were now enjoying breakfast, and Alvin had just cracked an excellent joke concerning a Viking and a yak.

"So," said Stoick, chomping down on a chicken leg (one could never go wrong there for breakfast). "The storm's clearing up. I should be able to get out of here by this afternoon!"

Alvin had made a deal with Stoick to prevent the Berkian from leaving while the eye of the hurricane was still around: the moment the storm cleared up enough for ships to go out, Stoick could depart back to Berk- but not a minute sooner.

Alvin chewed on his beef. "Mayhaps," he agreed.

Stoick started to go on about how excited he was to finally get out of here. Alvin wasn't really listening, but nodded at the right times and tried to make comforting faces. It was hard. Alvin the Treacherous was not by nature a supporting person, unless it was for someone's blood. But he had tried to change in the past few years. He truly had.

Alvin looked up from his meal and around at his tribe of Outcasts. They were locked tight inside _their_ Great Hall while the storm passed. It had been eerily quiet a couple of days ago when the eye had been right above them, but over the past twenty-four hours, the weather had worsened by a ten-fold.

The Outcast glanced at the sole window they had in their Great Hall. There, he could see outside and how the weather was doing. The rain thrashing. Sea spitting. But he also saw... no, it was silly... he had thought he had seen a small green dragon pounding at the window!

Alvin blinked his eyes, trying to get the dragon to disappear, but it was still there, looking desperate to get inside.

"Eh, Stoick?" said Alvin uncomfortably.

"Yeah, Al- so then Hiccup actually sneaked off and-"

" _Stoick_?"

"-went looking for trolls, foolish boy. Gobber, you know him, did _nothing_ to help convince the boy, he actually _believes_ that there _are_ such things-"

"Stoick!"

Stoick paused from his monologue, hands frozen in animation. "Huh?"

Alvin jerked his head towards the window. "There's a dragon out there, flyin' 'round an' lookin' scared. You know I'm no good with dragons, ev'n still."

Stoick's brow crinkled as he stood. "What's a Terror doin' out in this storm? I'm going to let him in." The chief strode over to the great wooden door that was sealed with a block of wood. He removed the block and opened the door. Wind rushed in the room, howling, and mixed with rain that drenched anyone standing too close to the exit. The doused Outcasts stopped talking and started to yell, "What'd'ya do _that_ for?!"

Ignoring the people's protests, Stoick stepped out into to storm, promptly getting soaked by rain the moment he left the safety of the Great Hall. The Hooligan went over to the window and grabbed the Terror, who clung to him shakily. Stoick returned to indoors and fastened the door shut. He walked back to his side of the table with Alvin and sat down, refusing to show exactly how cold he was.

"What's it doin' here?" said Alvin with a cautious look. Though he had stopped hunting dragons a while ago, he still didn't love them.

Stoick checked the little dragon and was surprised to find a letter attached to its left leg. The paper was wrapped in a small waterproof case so the message wouldn't be ruined in the rain. "Ah. Terror mail. You have anyone who wanted to contact you, or is it mine?"

Alvin thought. "Well… the Meatheads _were_ s'posed to send me a list of how many warships they owned. Mayhaps this is me letter now."

The other chief handed the Outcast the note, but didn't release the Terror. He took a paper cloth and started to wipe it down. His son's giving nature to dragons had rubbed off on him.

Alvin unrolled the letter and started to read. He looked like he was going to say something at first, but kept looking at it, his face growing aghast.

"What is it, Alvin?" Stoick asked, feeding the Terror a bit of his breakfast. "The Meatheads own too many warships?"

Alvin finished reading and set the paper down. "Eh… Stoick… it isn't _me_ letter… it's yours. 'Ere." He handed the message to Stoick, who took it curiously.

The note read,

 _Chief Stoick,_

 _This is Astrid Hofferson writing. How are you doing in the storm? We've heard that it was bad over there, and hope that you and the Outcasts are alright._

 _But, chief, that isn't why I wrote this letter. Something serious has happened that the Riders think you should know about… see, Chief, it's Hiccup._

Stoick's blood hardened to ice. _Oh, no_. Hiccup had gotten sick… Hiccup had gotten hurt… Hiccup had gotten kidnapped… fears for his son clamped over his heart. Despite the many concerns that filled him, he kept reading.

 _Hiccup recieved your letter and thought that you were going to fly home the night the hurricane hit. He was worried sick about you. And then Johann showed up and told everyone that the eye of the storm was over Outcast Island. That was too much for Hiccup to handle. So, without telling anyone (even me), he took off on Toothless to get you and hasn't been seen since._

 _Right now, the Dragon Riders are preparing to leave. We're going to find Hiccup. I'd say 'don't worry', but that's a futile attempt. Still, don't worry. We'll find Hiccup. Or maybe he's already there with you now._

 _Don't bother to send a reply. We'll be gone by the time you get our letter, and a day out at sea._

 _Many condolences,_

 _Astrid Hofferson_

Stoick was stunned. His son was missing. Because of him.

 _Hiccup..._

 _Why_ had he written that letter? By Odin's eyepatch, it was all his fault…

Stoick stood. "Skullcrusher! Skullcrusher, come here!"

Alvin followed him up. "Stoick, what are ya doin'?"

"Skullcrusher! Come on!"

The chief of the Outcasts was not an exactly bright character, but this time, he understood what Stoick was doing. "No, Stoick, I know you're upset 'bout little 'iccup, but yeh can't fly out into the st-"

Skullcrusher bounded up from the fireplace, where he had been resting. He cocked his head at Stoick, wondering what his master wanted. Alvin didn't have a dragon, but was looking for one. He wanted a huge and scary one like Skullcrusher with a name like Flesheater or the Conqueror, but hadn't yet found a match. Though he hadn't told Stoick, he was impressed with the Rumblehorn.

Stoick's eyes blazed with fury and hidden concern. "Come on, Skullcrusher, we're leaving. Right now. My boy is in danger."

Alvin put a hand on Stoick's broad shoulder, trying to stop him. "Stoick, you hafta think 'bout this-"

" _No_!" roared Stoick, silencing the people in the Great Hall. Those who weren't already watching turned to take in the fight. "Hiccup is in _danger_! The foolish boy is going to kill himself- because of _me_! I have to go!" He wrenched away from Alvin's grasp and to the place where Skullcrusher's saddle was kept.

Alvin trailed after him. "No, you don't have to! Look, Stoick, you can't help 'Iccup if you're dead!"

"If I _don't_ help, then _he'll_ be the one dead!"

"No! He won't!" said the Outcast. "'Iccup is resourceful. Of all people, you should know that. Some little storm won't stop _him_. Betcha that he'll show up tonight on that dragon of his, soakin' wet… an' safe. You'll be worryin' for nuffin."

Stoick paused as he was about to reach for Skullcrusher's saddle. For a moment, Alvin thought that he had knocked some sense into the other chief, but Stoick's voice was dripping with anger and doubt when he spoke.

"Well, what do you s'pose I do, then?" Stoick cried. "Let my son _die_?!"

"Of course not! Look 'ere, Stoick, when the 'urricane lets up, you can leave. It's gettin' better by the minute, so you can handle that while yeh pack. But I won't letcha go out now. It's too dangerous."

Stoick's shoulders sagged heavily with worry. "Yes, it is. And Hiccup's out there… alone, except for his dragon… stuck flying in the rain, set on the idea that he's helpin' me somehow. Alvin… it's all my fault."

Alvin had never seen Stoick look so despairing. He usually held himself up as the courageous Stoick the Vast, fearless and regal. It was a sign of defeat to see such a great man looking so broken.

"Well, mayhaps it is your fault, but we all know there's no changin' that boy's mind when he gets an idea. He would'a proba'ly went off to find ya ev'n if yeh didn't send that letter," said Alvin.

Stoick sighed. He felt like screaming. He wanted to jump on his Rumblehorn and disappear into the rain. But he knew he couldn't. He had to put away his Viking traits and pull a Hiccup; do the smart thing. "Fine. I'll wait. But I'm leaving the _moment_ the hurricane moves away, and no one can stop me from saving my son. I'm not coming back, even if I'm riding right under the eye of the storm."

With that, Stoick stalked off to an empty chair near the fire. His son- his beloved Hiccup- was in danger. It had been frightening enough when Hiccup had battled the Green Death. The hopelessness Stoick had felt when his son had vanished in the mountain of fire had never left him. This time, it was nearly the same case, and Stoick was afraid for his son. But it was worse this incidence, because now he knew what exactly could happen to Hiccup, and that he had no way to stop it.

The chief sighed a heaving breath, and Stoick the Vast, O Hear His Name and Tremble, Ugh, Ugh buried his head in his hands.

 _Oh, Hiccup… what have you done?_

* * *

"Toothless? T-time to get up, bud," Hiccup said softly, patting Toothless's black head. The dragon opened his eyes and moaned a little.

Hiccup chuckled, then sneezed. "You r-really are a sleepyhead t-today, you us-useless reptile."

Hiccup and Toothless had stopped to rest for the previous night on a teeny tiny island that was crawling with Terrible Terrors. Though they were some of the smallest dragons found in the archipelago, they could be fierce when they ganged up together, and these wild ones were distressed about a Viking visiting. Hiccup and Toothless hadn't gotten much rest last night, Hiccup having to train Terrors by the dozens to keep them from attacking. He and Toothless now called the island- originally named 'Woden's Thumb'- 'The Terror of Terrors' in remembrance of their experience.

Toothless yawned, showing his bare gums, and struggled to his feet. He tried to hide it, he really did, but he winced when his paw wounded by the Whispering Death touched the ground.

"Toothless, are you okay?" Hiccup fretted. "Bud, is your paw hurting?"

The Night Fury hid his injury behind him and whimpered a meek, _No_.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow, pausing to cough. His cold had come back worse than before after leaving Stormshout's land, and he now sported a hacking cough that could sometimes go on for spells of several minutes. Toothless worried about his rider and didn't want him back in the rain. But Hiccup refused to care about his well-being. All he could think about was saving his father.

"Well, bud, if it does hurt, I'm sorry. I _could_ help you… if you let me."

Toothless shifted his paw, sending a jolt of pain to it. Temptation won over his pride. Sheepishly, he offered it to Hiccup. The Viking redressed the bandage within minutes, and Toothless felt much better than before after Hiccup finished.

"Alright, alright, you're welcome, Toothless," Hiccup laughed when his dragon gave him a lick of gratitude. "Now, we've really got to go. We're only a day away from Outcast Island, but in this weather, it will be longer."

Hiccup and Toothless packed up their small camp and were ready to leave within minutes. Hiccup didn't say goodbye to this island. He had had enough terror on it to last him a lifetime. Soon, the two were up in the dreary skies again, soaring through the rain.

An hour passed. Hiccup's coughs grew more frequent, and he couldn't stop shivering, even though he was wearing two coats. Toothless's paw had begun to throb again, and he was barely keeping upright in the downpour, which had not yet turned lenient.

When Hiccup had a hacking fit that lasted for five minutes, Toothless just _knew_ they needed to stop. Saving Stoick wasn't their first priority now; keeping them both healthy was.

The Night Fury gave a sideways look at his rider, making sure he wasn't looking. Hiccup was now blinking rain from his eyes, seeming deep in thought. Good. As soon as Toothless's wound had relented its throbbing for a moment he spun and dove downwards like a torpedo.

Hiccup began to shout, "T-Toothless! TOOTHLESS! What a-are you doing?! Stop t-that, Toothless, _s-s-stop that_!" He tried to bring his dragon back up by using his controls, but it was too late; they were falling.

Toothless unfurled his wings and resumed gliding. He was right over the sea now, scanning the water for an island to stop on. After a moment of fiddling with Toothless's tail controls to force him up again, understanding dawned on Hiccup. Toothless was looking for a place to rest.

"Toothless, b-bud, you co-could've told m-me that y-you wanted to s-stop," shivered Hiccup, rubbing his arms.

His dragon rumbled a quiet apology and kept flying. Hiccup now scanned the water for land, too. They didn't see any. Hiccup was just about to give up when he spotted something in the distance. He pointed at it. "There, T-Toothless, I s-see something. Let's go c-check it out."

Toothless flapped his wings with a new energy. A break seemed heavenly right now from the sore state of his wings and paw. Hiccup didn't sound too much better.

It was a ship. Not a huge one, more like Trader Johann's, but it was a ship nonetheless. A figure stood on board, gaping at the pair as they flew over. Hiccup and Toothless slowly landed on board.

Hiccup slid of Toothless, coughing into his fist. He looked at the man on the ship, who was staring at them with a open mouth.

"Greetings," said Hiccup, coming over to the man. He was your typical Viking- broad, frightening, and hairy. "My name i-is Hiccup Haddock, son of S-Stoick the Vast, chief o-of Berk, and t-this is my dr-dragon, Toothless."

Toothless flapped his tail in greeting.

The man swallowed. "My name's Thorkell," he said in a surprisingly proper voice. "And I'm the captain of this ship. You're the Friend of Dragons, right? The only one who owns a Night Fury?" He considered Toothless with an interested eye, and Toothless held back a growl at his attention.

"Well, not _own_ ," Hiccup amended. "He's m-my friend. Isn't t-that right, b-bud?" He scratched Toothless's head once, then sneezed.

Thorkell's forehead creased. "What are you doing out here, Friend of Dragons? There's a hurricane, if you haven't noticed. Or do Night Furies have to worry about them?"

Hiccup coughed into his elbow. "I'm lo-looking for m-my father. He's o-on Outcast Is-Island. Where the e-eye of the storm i-is around."

"Ah. Why'd you stop here, then?" said Thorkell, shifting.

The Dragon Rider sighed. "We need to r-rest," he admitted. "Toothless's p-paw is hurt, and I've got- agh- I've got- ACHOO!"

"A cold," Thorkell finished. "Of course you do. It's freezing, and young men like you shouldn't be out here for too long. Let's go to my quarters and talk, shall we?"

A few minutes later, Hiccup and Thorkell were sitting at a small table below decks, each holding a mug of tea. To Hiccup, his tasted as good as a night ride with Toothless. Wonderful.

Hiccup was explaining what he had encountered so far, and what he planned to do. Thorkell listened without interrupting, only looking away when Toothless gave a snort to remind his rider of something. Hiccup finished his story in a short amount of time, and then hesitated before speaking again.

"Thorkell…," he began. "Are y-you going to Outcast Island, b-by chance?" Even though he was warm again, he couldn't stop trembling.

Thorkell shook his head. "No, I'm not. I'm heading home till the storm exhausts himself out. I'm a repairman by trade and travel all over the archipelago fixing Viking settlements and tools. It's quite interesting work, actually."

Hiccup took a sip of his tea, which slid down his throat and made it feel better. It had gotten pretty sore from coughing so much. "W-would you, by an-any chance, consider m-making a s-stop to Outcast Island?"

The captain fingered his mug. "It'd be pretty dangerous trying to go there, Hiccup."

Hiccup stared at him with pleading green eyes. "Thorkell.. I- I am _begging_ you… Toothless a-and I… we won't m-make it by ourselves. We're t-too weak at the moment. We need h-help. I just want to s-save my father. I lost my m-mother when I was y-young, and if Dad g-gets killed in t-the storm, I'll be alone. A-and a chief, without any guidance. As the person w-who made peace between Vikings and dr-dragons, I ask you to do this one f-favor for me. Please."

Thorkell studied this young man. The Friend of Dragons sat before him, desperate for help. Thorkell couldn't help but think about all the times dragons had attacked his ship and stolen his supplies and food.

Ever since this mysterious Hiccup Haddock had proved that Vikings and dragons could get along, there were more no more raids. No more wild dragons flying out of nowhere and nearly capsizing his ship. Thor, once a dragon had even saved his life two years ago. And he owed it all to this boy. Hiccup. Friend of Dragons, and tamer of the offspring of lightning and death itself.

Thorkell thought about it from Hiccup's point of view. All of this responsibility thrust upon his shoulders. He had fame, yes. New friends, Thorkell supposed, and a better life. Yet his only piece of family left was in danger of dying, and if he did, Hiccup's world would change again... but not in the best way. And after all Hiccup had done for the archipelago, Thorkell didn't think he deserved that.

"Alright." He nodded. "We'll go."

Hiccup stared in shock. Even his Night Fury's oval green eyes widened as he pricked up his ears.

"W-what?" said Hiccup.

Thorkell stood. "I'm setting our course to Outcast Island. It will be risky, and the ship may not make it. But as much as I tried to deny it, Hiccup, I owe you. A dragon saved my life a few years after you slayed the Green Death. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. So I'm returning the favor."

A grin broke across Hiccup's incredulous expression. "Thorkell… t-thanks."

The Viking straightened. "That's captain, to you, boy. Enjoy your stay on the _Peregrine_ , Friend of Dragons. Welcome aboard."

* * *

 **And that's a wrap for Chapter 5!**

 **Let me know in the reviews how you think about this. I haven't gotten too many of them, and I wondering to myself whether anyone likes it.**

 **Thank you to anyone who viewed, reviewed, favorited, or followed! It means so much, and I'm so thankful for all of you guys! Also, I'm thinking about doing shoutouts. What do you guys think?**

 **Until Chapter 6, dear readers! That's where the action REALLY gets started! *rubs hands together evilly***


	6. Chapter 6

**Shoutouts! (lots of them)**

 **Guest** **: Yes! I will update as quickly as I can, I promise!**

 **thepurplewriter333 : Aw! Thanks! I guess you'll have to wait and see for those questions to be answered, because no spoilers for me! *zips mouth shut, then reopens it* Yeah, I'm doing shoutouts! Woo-hoo! And yes, the **_**Peregrine**_ **was Stoick's fastest ship in the** _ **How to Train Your Dragon**_ **book series. I'm so happy someone noticed!**

 **phieillydinyia** **: (to all of her reviews) Chapter Two) Thank you!**

 **Chapter Three) Oh, Thor, I'm so sorry! I KNOW that Hiccup lost a leg, and I'm so sorry that I didn't catch that! This is my first HTTYD fanfiction, so I'm still getting the hang of this. :-)**

 **Chapter Four) Huh. Maybe you're right. I had a tab up for the Whispering Death and the Thunderdrum right beside it, so maybe I got confused. If you're right, I'm just going to say go with it for the sake of the story.**

 **Chapter Five)As for Hiccup going to Outcast Island, think about it from Hiccup's point of view… his father, the only family he has left besides Toothless, may be killed in the storm if he stays on Outcast Island. Hiccup is smart, and he knows that Stoick could never make it off in the weather, and that Alvin would stop him if he tried. Hiccup knows that the storm will have relented by the time he arrives, and thinks that he can help his father if there are TWO dragons flying in the hurricane instead of one. Sorry for not making that clear!**

 **katurdi** **: Thanks! And the next chapter is HERE! YESSSS! Thank you for your continuing support!**

 **Guest** **: *laughs* What do you mean, 'please put Hiccup!whump in it'? OF COURSE THERE WILL BE HICCUP!WHUMP IN IT! As for Ryker (I think you meant him), you shall see… there WILL be an enemy in this, if any of you were wondering.**

 **flopy** **: I'm glad! Thanks for reviewing! And there will be a lot of Hicctooth in Chapter 7, so hang in there!**

 **Guest** **: Well, at least I didn't do a cliffhanger this time! Yes, I'll write more. An update a day is about all I can manage, though. I've got this thing called school that keeps me really busy.**

 **FanWriter02** **: Thank you! It makes me so happy to hear that!**

 **Gosh, guys, you nearly gave me half of all the reviews I've received in the past DAY. That is AMAZING! Thank you all so much! :-D It means a lot!**

 **Sorry for the late update! I'm homeschooled and today is my big school day. I also had a doctor appointment, and that slowed things down. But at least I'm posting! And this chapter is more than a thousand words longer than the previous longest one.**

 **Alright! Here is Chapter 6! Hope you all like it!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6:**

Hiccup woke up feeling well-rested and warm. He had finally stopped shivering during the night and was now buried in a mountain of blankets. He wanted to keep on sleeping, but forced himself out of bed anyways. Toothless stirred at his rousing and stretched, smacking his lips. The message was clear: _I'm hungry_.

Hiccup laughed. "Alright, bud, we'll get you some food. Maybe we can catch some fish if Thorkell has any nets on him. Perhaps even some _haddock_..."

Toothless practically bounced in excitement. Haddock was his favorite type of fish, and whenever Hiccup gave him any, he wouldn't stop eating, even if he wasn't hungry. It was just. So. Good.

Hiccup's mind wandered back to Berk as he changed. What were his friends doing? They would've definitely noticed he was missing by now. It had been four nights since he left. Usually, the journey to Outcast Island only took a few days, but the storm had forced Toothless and him to stop many times and slowed their expedition.

He prayed that Dragon Riders had found his note and wouldn't go after him. But knowing Astrid, she had probably dragged the other Riders to go find him days ago. He smiled as he imagined it. Snotlout complaining about how Dragon Boy could get himself out of his own mess. Astrid punching him. Fishlegs' rant of worrying, " _Oh, Thor, oh, Thor_ …". Ruff and Tuff making some awful joke that would make the team groan. Yep. They were family.

The boy thought especially of Astrid and winced, knowing how angry she must've been when she found out what he had done. She must've been worried too, her friend suddenly vanishing overnight with no one the wiser.

"I'm sorry, Astrid," he said quietly. "But you have to understand. I need my father. I can't lose him. I just know that with my help, I can get Dad out of there, and together, we'll make it back. Getting there is most of the problem, it seems." He sighed, and Toothless seemed to understand that he was feeling down. His dragon cooed and cocked his head to the door, like, Let's get out of here.

Smiling, Hiccup left the room with Toothless trotting after him. Thorkell had given him a spare room that he used for whenever he took on a passenger or a crew mate, and it was below decks like Thorkell's quarters.

Hiccup was met by a gust of icy cold air and rain when he opened the hatch and stepped out. He fought back a shudder, glad that he had remembered to bring his coat with him.

"Hiccup!" Thorkell's voice called. Hiccup glanced over and saw the Viking standing near the prow of the ship. "Did you have a good sleep?"

Hiccup came over to Thorkell, nodded. "Yes, it was wonderful. How far are we from Outcast Island?" They had had to stop during the night went temperatures dipped and the storm fed on that, growing worse than ever. It had delayed their arrival time, but they were now sailing once again northwest towards the island. Towards his father.

"Maybe a bit more than a day away, I'd reckon," said Thorkell, studying the sky. He had long since been bothered by the rain. It wasn't a question now. It just always was storming. "You hungry?"

Toothless snapped a growl of approval, and Hiccup laughed. "Well, I know Toothless is."

Thorkell kicked a stuffed bag by his feet. "Good. I caught some fish for breakfast. I've got some salt downstairs if you want some with it."

The Night Fury was licking his chops again, bouncing in preparation.

"Thorkell," started Hiccup. "Did you happen to catch any haddock?"

"I did, I believe."

Toothless got even more excited as Hiccup grinned, gesturing to the captain. Thorkell tossed Toothless a couple of fish which he gobbled up as soon as they left the Viking's hand. Hiccup, meanwhile, was given a couple of fish and sent below to cook them over a fire Thorkell had going in the small fireplace in his room. The fish roasted nicely, and Hiccup felt satisfied for the first time in days.

When he came back up, he nearly dropped the plate he was holding. Toothless was advancing toward Thorkell with narrowed pupils and lowered ears. Thorkell was whimpering as Toothless came closer, murmuring, "Nice dragon…"

Hiccup was about to yell at Toothless to stop until it was too late- Toothless lunged…

…at the bag of haddock. It turned out that was all he was after in the first place.

After laughing in relief, Hiccup returned below decks. He didn't want his cold to get any worse than it was already. Also, he wanted to track his progress in his notebook and map. Thorkell told him to go downstairs and rest. He'd be fine. Thanking him, Hiccup tromped downstairs, Hiccup following him. He took the charcoal pencil from his bag and started to write, beginning to inscribe about what had happened with Stormshout, the island of Terrors, and Thorkell's ship. After he had finished recording that, he scribbled a few things in his map of Toothless's flight path and where they were at the end of each day. He felt pleased as he marked the _Peregrine_ 's place, which was about an inch and a half away from Outcast Island on his map.

 _THUD!_

Something hit the side of the ship, and it rumbled, rebounding back at the pressure. Hiccup looked up from his papers and wondered if Thorkell needed his help for whatever was going on. Probably not. And plus, Hiccup was more of an expert on dragons, not ships. He returned to writing.

But when a second thud, this time louder, shook his entire room, he knew something was up. He shoved his things in his satchel, slung it over his shoulder, and went upstairs.

Thorkell was rushing around, looking desperate for help. His face lightened when he saw Hiccup.

"Ah!" he cried. "Just the man I needed!"

"Why?" said Hiccup curiously.

Thorkell gestured to the ocean. "We're having a bit of trouble over here. A dragon. I saw it come up about a minute ago."

Hiccup nodded like this didn't surprise him. He'd been expecting something like this to happen. Dragons could get freaked out when storms hit, and act a lot more dangerous than they usually were. This was a full-out hurricane, and Hiccup knew that they were bound to run into at least one unnerved dragon. Hopefully, Hiccup could calm this one down.

"What type is it?" he asked. "What species?"

Thorkell shrugged. "The only dragons I can identify are Nightmares, Gronckles, and of course, your Night Fury. No water dragons, though I've seen my fair share of them."

Okay. So Hiccup would go into this blindly. He turned to Toothless, who was watching the clouds with unease. "What do you say we go flying, bud?"

Toothless growled an, _Absolutely_ never, knowing what Hiccup meant. He wanted to fly out there and try and lure away the wild dragon, which was now smashing itself against the ship and making its voyagers stumble around on board. board. Of course, it was Hiccup's luck having this happen.

"Please, bud? I'll get you more haddock after...," he tempted. Toothless was ready to go in a heartbeat after that bribe.

After saddling the Night Fury, Hiccup jumped up on his dragon and latched his feet to the devices he had designed for his legs (well, leg) to control Toothless's prosthetic.

"We'll be back in a f-few minutes," he told Thorkell, beginning to shiver already. He felt the signs of his cold return in the weather and coughed a few times. "We'll try and lead it away from here and search for its pod. It won't be t-too far from its group. They never work a-alone."

"Good luck," said Thorkell. "Be safe, Friend of Dragons."

Toothless spread his wings and jumped off the ship, Hiccup opening his tailfin just before they hit the water. They skimmer over the sea, then rose up to get a better look.

"Hiccup!" Thorkell called through cupped hands.

Hiccup turned Toothless around to face the captain. "Yeah?"

"Er… I think there might be _two_ dragons."

The Dragon Rider sighed. Yes, it was just his luck.

He circled the ship, looking for some sign of where the dragons might've been. When he saw a stream of bubbles on the starboard side, he nudged Toothless down to investigate further.

An orange dragon rose from the ocean. Hiccup recognized it as a Scauldron. This one was bigger than most he'd seen, and looked a lot more aggressive. The hurricane must've really freaked it out.

"Woah, b-bud!" said Hiccup, narrowly dodging a blast of hot water. "Clearly, this isn't going to work... Toothless p-plasma blast! But just a w-warning."

Toothless shot a blast near the Scauldron in the water to get it enraged and to start following them. The beast hissed in anger when Hiccup and Toothless started to fly away and began the great chase. The dragon and his rider led the Scauldron further out to sea, and away from the _Peregrine_ , the Scauldron hot on their tail.

"Let's look for its p-pod, bud. Scauldrons usually travel together," Hiccup reminded Toothless, searching the water. At Hiccup's clear lower of defense, the water dragon spat at him. Toothless roared and ducked as Hiccup was nearly decapitated. The boy still felt a phantom of burning water nearly brush his neck.

He patted Toothless, who was growling at the Scauldron. He broke into a coughing fit, and Toothless grew worried, but he soon broke out of it. "Thanks, bud, I o-owe you one. Now, let's get this guy o-out of h-here."

They flew higher, to the Scauldron's dismay, and looked around. It was a little hard to see in the rain (okay, a _lot_ hard), but Toothless spotted a faint green head emerging in the nearing distance and rumbled to Hiccup.

"What- oh, good eye, T-Toothless!" praised Hiccup. "Alright, send out another warning shot so we can draw it to its friend."

But the Scauldron was losing interest in them. They were so high up that it couldn't get what it wanted. On the other hand, the ship it had been terrorizing was only a little ways away... so close... so _tasty_. It turned away and started slithering towards its new victim.

Hiccup watched in frustration. "No... _no_! Toothless, l-let's follow it and try to get back its a-attention on u-us."

Toothless glided easily past the Scauldron and flapped in front of it, making the water dragon pause.

"O-okay, bud- _NOW_!"

The Night Fury sent a plasma blast pretty close to the other dragon. Resurfacing in defensive mode, the Scauldron shot a ball at them. They avoided it, then started to flee back towards the other Scauldron. Hiccup was glad to see the beast was following them.

"Almost t-there," Hiccup promised. Toothless grunted back.

Finally, they reached the green Scauldron. Upon seeing its friend, the orange one calmed down and swam over to it. They reunited, and then hearing another rumble of the clouds, swam away. Hiccup was relieved that the two didn't decide to come back together and take down the ship, but understood. All creatures new that the storm was the bigger threat and were going to safety.

Hiccup fist bumped the sky and whooped at their success. "Yes! Alright, l-let's go get the other one. Hopefully, it's a S-Scauldron, too, but I doubt so b-because i-it didn't stick with t-the other one."

Toothless flew Hiccup back to the ship, and they were shocked at what they saw. A gigantic sea-green monster was lifting its head to look down at the comparatively tiny ship.

"For the l-love of T-Thor- that's no dragon!" Hiccup shouted, trembling. "That's a s-sea monster!"

He was reminded profusely of the Red Death as he and Toothless shot towards it, then began to circle it. He was glad to see that this one didn't shoot fire. The beast glanced up and saw them. Its mouth was a hideous mess of broken teeth and several purple tongues. The sea monster's body was thick and large, but Hiccup could imagine it moved fast underwater. Then it let out a roar that nearly made Toothless fall from the sky at its sound.

Hiccup rubbed Toothless's side in support as they tried to straighten themselves. "It's okay, bud... we're okay. Now, how to get rid of the sea monster..."

His mind raced. He had never encountered a sea monster before. Vikings had told tales of gigantic monsters that only lurked at the very bottoms of the sea, but Hiccup had waved it off as ghost stories for children who wouldn't go to sleep. If the Riders hadn't yet found anything, then he doubted they would in the future. Maybe a new ocean dragon, but never a sea monster. Well, he stood corrected, then.

"Toothless, any ideas?" said Hiccup. He was used to knowing all about these kinds of monsters, and felt ashamed when nothing came to mind.

The Night Fury growled a negative.

"Well…," his rider began. "I guess we'll just have to wing it then. Let's start off by catching its attention and leading is away like we did the Scauldron. Check out its strengths and weaknesses."

Hiccup and Toothless flew dangerously close to the sea monster as they examined it. Hiccup was just getting a good luck at the beast's surfaced back, when it let out a hiss.

It was quiet and made no difference to Hiccup, but to Toothless, it was a huge matter. The dragon stumbled in the sky and dropped a few yards, barely keeping aloft. Hiccup shouted in alarm. Toothless kept descending further and further till he was on the sea monster's back.

Hiccup was yelling to snap him out of it. "TOOTHLESS! Toothless, come on, bud, work with me! You have to try, bud- come on! Fight it!"

But Toothless didn't come out of whatever trance he was in. He simply stood there on the sea monster's sea-soaked scales. He was hypnotized. Hiccup guessed that the sea monster was sort of like the Death Song- calling in its prey to lure them in. Despite the situation he had to wonder if its diet was dragons. It would've had to be. Anything else was far too small for it.

The monster turned its head around to look at them with its three beady eyes. Hiccup tried to get Toothless to fly. Too late, Hiccup realized, the sea monster was opening its jaws to swallow them whole… Hiccup screamed- " _TOOTHLESS!_ NO!"- but the beast kept coming towards them, closer and closer, releasing a pungent breath into Hiccup's face…

...until Toothless suddenly woke up and saw what was going on. He screeched and flapped his wings. Thankful, Hiccup moved the dragon's tailfin so Toothless could soar away to avoid being eaten. But Toothless was a little too late. Teeth sliced against Hiccup's ribcage as the Night Fury flew, and he saw red for a moment. Toothless shrieked in alarm, knowing Hiccup was hurt. Grimacing, the Dragon Rider hunched over and thanked the gods that the cut wasn't any deeper than it was. Just a scratch. He hoped.

 _SLAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPP!_

The sea monster threw itself into the ship. Hiccup watched, bleary-eyed from discomfort, as the _Peregrine_ rocked from the sudden pressure. When the sea monster removed its body from the ship, Hiccup and Toothless gasped at what they saw: a giant gaping hole was left and was filling up with water all too quickly. With a loud boom, the perpetrator sank back into the sea, satisfied that its work had been done.

"Thorkell…," Hiccup whispered as the ship started to go down. "Bud… b-bring us closer in… we have t-to get him… ha-have to..." With the dagger-like raindrops and the sting from his wound, Hiccup felt truly awful. But he wouldn't leave Thorkell to die just because he fell unconscious by a wound he could've avoided getting… all his fault, all his fault...

Toothless flew down and landed on the sinking ship. The captain stood on board, looking one hundred percent _terrified_.

"What in Odin's name was that?!" he cried, clutching his helmet to his head.

"A s-sea monster," Hiccup croaked. "N-never encountered one b-before. Now, Thorkell, we-we've got to g-get out of here. T-the sh-ship is s-sinking."

Thorkell looked around at his ship, like he was seeing it for the first time. He shifted. "But… my wares… everything I've ever have-"

"Can b-be replaced," interrupted Hiccup. "A l-life is better than any m-material."

The captain, though looking heartbroken, nodded. "I suppose we're going to fly off on that dragon of yours? Out into the storm… alone… and…" His eyes widened. "You're wounded! I-I saw you get hit. Hiccup, are you-"

Hiccup hissed when he moved his back, and Toothless snorted in concern. "I'm fine," he breathed. "N-now, get o-on before To-Toothless makes y-you."

Thorkell hurried onto the Night Fury after that, and they were up in the air a moment later. Hiccup was in so much pain that he wanted to pass out. But he couldn't. Toothless needed him to fly, and Thorkell didn't know how to work the controls if Hiccup lost consciousness. He held them all together. He had to stay awake. For.. for the team… like he had always done…

"Hiccup?" said Thorkell, touching his shoulder gently. "Hang in there."

The Rider managed a nod. "Sure… s-sure…"

They rose up into the clouds just as the _Peregrine_ gave a final rumble and vanished beneath the unforgiving sea.

* * *

" _Echo!"_

 _...echo…_

" _ECHO!"_

 _...ECHO…_

" _EC-"_

"Would you _shut up_?!" Astrid hissed to the twins, who were having altogether too much fun in the caves. "We're looking for Hiccup! This is serious! For once in your lives, can you be-"

Tuffnut stepped up, rolling his eyes. "Us? Serious? C'mon, Astrid. We're idiots. _Everyone_ knows that. Even we do. And we're muttonheads. Wait, what was I just talking about?

Ruff shoved him. "How idiotic we are! Duh!"

"Oh, yes, dear sister- I remember now! But what was Astrid saying?"

The Dragon Riders had just landed on a small island that Hiccup might've stopped on during his journey. After finding a few newly torn vines still hanging from a rock, Fishlegs had discovered a cave entrance and guessed that Hiccup might've rested in there, the only visible dry spot on the island. They were all checking it out now, split into teams: Astrid and the twins, and Fishlegs and Snotlout. Could it get any worse than this? Astrid sighed, missing Hiccup even more, which she didn't think was possible.

"I wonder if the others have found anything yet," said Astrid. "Let's go check."

The twins had no objection, so they set off to find the rest of their group. After a minute of wandering down the tunnel, they stumbled upon Fishlegs, who was sitting next to Meatlug with a grumpy expression.

"Hey," Astrid greeted. "Where's Snotlout? I thought you guys were working together."

Fishlegs huffed, sticking his nose up. " _Were_ is all right. Snotlout thought that he was _so_ much better than me and ran off on a claim that he'd fine Hiccup before we did. Hmph… he'll probably end up being attacked by bats because he went alone, but it was his choice. I'm not stopping him." He fell back into his snit.

Astrid's brow crinkled. "When did he leave?"

"A couple of minutes ago… maybe five or ten. Why?"

No. She couldn't let herself get excited. But, if Snotlout hadn't returned by now- and he _always_ came back-, then _maybe_ … just maybe.. "Maybe he's found something."

Fishlegs snorted and raised his eyebrows. "Really, Astrid? Of all people, you think that _Snotlout_ would be the one-"

But Astrid was already running.

She was only sprinting for half a minute before she nearly ran into Snotlout, who was staring at one spot on the floor with a furrowed expression.

"Snotlout!" Astrid gasped, skidding to a stop. "You find anything?"

The Viking nodded. "Yeah. Something. It's not Dragon Boy, though. Just some burn marks on the floor… useless…"

Astrid leaned over to see what Snotlout was looking at. He was right; they were burn marks. And ones that looked familiar… so familiar in her mind, but just out of reach.

"Whose do you think they are?" said Snotlout, crossing his arms. Astrid had a suspicion that he was actually worrying about his cousin because ever since they had left Berk, he had been unusually quiet and didn't pull as many of his customary stupid stunts.

"Hmm…" Astrid examined them again. "Your guess is as good as mine… but, Snotlout… these look sort of familiar, don't you think?"

Snotlout examined them again, then sighed in frustration. "Beats me. Wish Hiccup were here to tell us all the answers. ' _That's Gronckle tracks!' 'That's part of the Dragon Eye!' 'That's_ -"

"Genius!" Astrid breathed. "That's genius, Snotlout! You're absolutely right! We need Hiccup here… _and_ his dragon. Do you know what this means?"

The boy looked skeptic. "Um, that we're out of luck?"

She shoved him, but for once, it was playful. "No! It _means_ that this is _Toothless_ 's mark! He burned this spot right here! And it's recent!" Astrid felt like doing a happy dance in relief, but she reminded herself that she was a hardcore Viking and refrained herself. _Hiccup's alive, and so is Toothless! They're still out there! And I_ know _they're alive, I just can_ feel _it… they're out there…_ A thought stopped her. _In danger._ Some of her elatedness faded at that last thought. But not all.

"Really?" Once again, Snotlout inspected Toothless's plasma blast mark. He let out a whistle. "You're right. That's Toothless's, alright. I should know. He's shot at me more than my quota of times."

Astrid grinned. "Let's go tell the others!"

As they raced back, Astrid was still beaming, even though Hiccup was so far. _He's alive… and that's the only thing that matters._

* * *

Hiccup leaned heavily against Toothless's side, shaking in the cold and with pain. They had just dropped Thorkell off at a neighboring island that promised him a free ride back home once the storm had blown over. They had offered to let Hiccup and Toothless stay, but the thought of his father was number one again and he had politely refused. Even though he was hurt… even though it was pouring like Thor was mourning a death… he was _so_ close. And like a magnet, he couldn't prevent the pull the tugged him to Outcast Island.

As Toothless shifted when a gust of air ran through them, Hiccup hissed in through his teeth. His side was _agony_. His Night Fury cooed in distress, wanting to comfort him. Hiccup smiled a small, weak smile.

"I-I'm fine, b-b-bud." He sneezed, which sent a jolt of pain burning through his back. This time, he couldn't help from screaming.

 _Thor, it hurt so much…_

Now Toothless was _really_ concerned. He had known his rider was injured and in pain, but Hiccup yelling at the slightest bit of movement? Toothless felt like something bad was happening… or about to. He rumbled to Hiccup in support. He felt him pat him back. They continued to fly.

As the evening progressed into twilight, the storm worsened. They were nearing Outcast Island, they knew, because the weather was ferocious and nearly knocked them out of the sky multiple.

At Hiccup's fifth grunt of pain, Toothless made an unspoken decision. Soon, they would stop and rest, clean Hiccup's wound and Toothless's own paw injury (but his had gotten a lot better with the night of rest on the ship and the break from flying). Toothless nodded to himself. With a grumble, he rolled into dive to look for an island or another boat.

What a mistake.

Hiccup sneezing and the mild turbulence had been just a _little_ bit of movement, and yet it had still made Hiccup cry out. Diving would harm a person any day, and in the Rider's state…

Hiccup let out another scream, this one piercing the evening sky and echoing on for miles. Toothless tried to stop himself from going any further, but the damage was already done. Hiccup had been knocked unconscious from the pain.

Without Hiccup to control his tailfin, Toothless began to drop, spiraling down through the clouds. He was black ball of fearful howling.

In Hiccup's nonresponsive state, he wasn't able to hang on and fell away from his dragon, mouth slightly agape as he plummeted towards the ocean.

Toothless roared and tried to grab a fading Hiccup, but it was far too late for that.

The first man to fly was falling.

* * *

 **BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Another CLIFFHANGER!**

 **I hope you guys liked that chapter. I'm pretty sure it's the longest one. The next chapter will be up sometime tomorrow, but I don't have an exact time.**

 **Thank you all for supporting me, reviewing, viewing, liking, or following. Your comments bring me joy and make me want to write. So, THANK YOU.**

 **Also, I'm going to be posting a series of one-shots soon. They're not going to totally be Hiccup!whump, but I can assure you they will have some good things in them, such as Hicctooth, Hiccstrid, father/son, or cousin bonding. I'll try and write one tonight or tomorrow and post as soon as I can.**

 **Until tomorrow, then! Please leave a review in the comments if you liked it!**


	7. Chapter 7

****Sorry, guys! No shoutouts this week. Sorry for the late update. Writing the one-shot Axestrid really delayed my usual writing schedule.****

 ** **Alright! Enjoy Chapter 7!****

* * *

 **Chapter 7:**

Toothless shrieked.

It was loud and echoed perhaps even more than Hiccup's previous scream. Hardly anyone had heard the cry of a Night Fury, and those who did hear it were saddened deeply. This was the lament of a fine beast brought down.

Hiccup and Toothless continued to fall. Further and further they went, gaining momentum as they dropped. Toothless tried to wiggle towards Hiccup, like they did when had Hiccup fallen off of him before, but without his rider's usual assistance in the process, he couldn't reach him.

He screeched again.

He quickly stopped, but because like his rider would usually say, he had an idea. It was like when Hiccup had been knocked off of him by the Red Death and was too unconscious to help out. What had Toothless done then? Well, he had grabbed his leg to keep him from falling. However, he couldn't do that. He knew Hiccup wouldn't want _two_ legs gone. No. He had to do something else…

His wings!

Toothless flapped them in response, lifting him up a little, but he continued to descend after that without his tail working along. Maybe he could use his large wingspan to his advantage and grab Hiccup with them. He started to get excited. Yes, yes, this might work!

He stretched his black appendages out towards Hiccup, trying to grab him. He snorted in relief when his wings touched the boy, and pulled him in close, glad to feel Hiccup's warm body fall against his chest.

Well, one problem was fixed now. But what about that tiny little matter that they were still falling towards their deaths?

Toothless glanced down and was shocked to see that there wasn't sea below them- there was a small island! How he hadn't noticed it before, he didn't know. Maybe the wind had blown them around too much for Toothless to observe it.

Inside his wings, Hiccup groaned. Toothless cooed, trying to reassure Hiccup that everything was fine- but the thing was, it wasn't.

Toothless knew, deep down, that he could not stop this. They'd fall. They'd crash. They might not survive. Desperate, Toothless tried to take to the air, but he couldn't manage to.

The boy and his dragon were crashing.

As they neared the island, which was coming all too fast for Toothless's liking, Toothless tried to think of how to soften the collision. Nothing came to mind. And they were getting closer… and closer… and closer…

Eventually, the dragon just decided that he would roll when he hit the ground and try to spread the impact. Hiccup had taught him that. Well, not really taught him- Toothless had just watched Hiccup react in different situations, falling from a high point one of them.

A gale whistled a warning in his ears. They were about to crash. Only a couple hundred more feet till landing. Toothless's senses went on high alert as his body screamed at him to fly. To run. But it was inevitable.

Toothless felt Hiccup stir a little inside of his wings. Even through the howling of the wind and rain, he heard his rider mutter, "Toothless?"

And then they hit the ground.

* * *

Toothless whimpered. He felt like he had been slammed into by the Red Death herself. Every piece of his body ached and cried for him to fall back asleep.

But he didn't.

Only because of one thought, though. One single thought that would make him happy, worried, or whine.

 _Hiccup_.

Through his fuzz-filled mind, he recalled the previous events. Flying. Screaming. Falling. Watching his rider tumble down to the ocean. How he had caught his limp body, but still fell. Then… _CRASH_! They had slammed into the ground. An island had been underneath them the entire time. That was all Toothless remembered.

Moaning, the dragon shook himself awake. _Hiccup..._ he had to find him… _Hiccup..._

He climbed to his feet, feeling disoriented. He had been unconscious temporarily from the blow, but now he was waking up. Toothless limped around and looked for Hiccup. He had tucked him under his wing during the fall, but now he was nowhere to be seen. Toothless began to freak out when he hadn't found the Dragon Rider by five minutes. _Hiccup! Hiccup? Hiccup- where was he_?

Toothless suddenly stumbled into something. He looked down and was surprised to see Hiccup's still body in front of him. Cooing, he nudged his rider. He didn't wake, but gave a small groan.

Toothless was relieved to see that he was alive, but still anxious. Hiccup was out cold, injured, and in a precarious state. And Toothless was just a dragon. Of course he didn't know how to treat wounds.

The sky grumbled, sending down another rain shower. Toothless snapped up at it. He knew the cold and rain were hurting Hiccup even further. Hiccup needed to get out of it. And soon. From the way his body was quivering even in loss of consciousness, Toothless knew this was serious.

The Night Fury bit down on Hiccup's coat and dragged the boy across the grass they had landed in. There were some trees further up ahead and they might shield them from the rain, and that's where Toothless was headed. When they arrived, Hiccup let out a grunt as Toothless dropped his head.

Toothless whined and licked Hiccup's face once.

He didn't react.

The dragon tried again. This would usually always make his rider wake up and yell, " _Toothless_! You _know_ that doesn't wash out!" And Toothless would thump his tail, and Hiccup would grin.

Except that didn't happen.

 _BOOM!_ thunder cried from above, and lightning cracked the sky. Toothless cast a wary glance at the sky. They were still being rained on, but the pressure wasn't as bad as being out in the open.

Toothless noticed that Hiccup's shivering had worsened, and his face was scrunched in pain. He was muttering nonsense under his breath, like he was having a fevered nightmare. Toothless whined. He had had his fair share of nightmares, and watched through years as Hiccup had them. Hiccup would tell Toothless about them sometimes, and the Night Fury knew they upset him. Because of that, he hated nightmares, or rather _anything_ that his rider didn't like.

Rumbling, Toothless sat down next to his rider and curled himself around Hiccup. He pushed Hiccup back into his wings and closed them. He slowly felt the Viking's shivering ease, and then completely die out. Satisfied, Toothless shifted and lifted his head higher. He was keeping watch. And he stayed that way throughout the rest of the night until dawn broke and he finally gave away to falling asleep. After all, Night Furies weren't invincible… and neither were their riders.

* * *

"Stoick? Yeh in here?" said Alvin, waddling in Stoick's room.

The chief of Berk knelt on the floor packing his things in his traveling bag. He didn't answer to Alvin. He was too busy stuffing everything in.

Alvin sighed, then straightened. "Stoick, are yeh sure you should be flyin' out in this weather? It's still nasty, ev'n if the eye is miles 'way from 'ere."

The eye of the storm had left Outcast Island about a week ago, and the harsh storms that followed were surprising to the Vikings. They had been accustomed to the calm weather they had endured while the eye was still upon them. Now, however, the worst of the storms had moved on and now they were experiencing what seemed to only be mild thunderstorms compared to what they had just seen.

Stoick stiffened and turned to face Alvin. His expression was bursting with aggravation.

"Are you suggesting that I stay here and leave my son- who's possibly _dead_ \- to fend for himself? In the middle of a hurricane?" Stoick growled in a dangerously low voice.

Now, Alvin was a chief. He was used to being the highest one in command. He exercised his voice by bellowing at his villagers and making as many orders as he liked. He was Alvin the Treacherous, leader of the Outcasts, and struck fear into the hearts of Vikings in the archipelago. Alvin was fierce. Unyielding.

So why did he gulp and step back now?

He tried to fix his mistake of backing down. "Mayhaps I am, Stoick. Mayhaps I am."

Stoick glared a glare so brutal and Alvin had to wonder why he wasn't chief of the Murderous Tribe. "I'm going," he hissed. "And not even a hurricane can stop me from saving my son."

Alvin returned his glower with one of his own. "I know that, Stoick. The way yeh talk about 'Iccup would make ev'n a blind man see that yeh care. I'm jus' sayin' that it could be dangerous. But don't get in another fuss, I won't try to stop yeh."

The Hooligan's growing fury dimmed a little at that.

"Good," he said carefully. "I'm leaving in half an hour, perhaps less. Alvin…" He looked up from his bag. "I would say 'good trip' but I'm afraid that would be lying."

Alvin nodded and stepped out of the room. "I agree. Well, I've got some chief business to attend to, so I won't be there to wish yeh off. So until next time, Stoick."

"Goodbye," the said person muttered as Alvin left. For a few minutes, he continued to pack his bag. He finished and set it on his bed.

After a long moment, he took his helmet from his head and stared at it in his weathered hands. He remembered giving the other half of Valka's breastplate to Hiccup as a helmet. He wondered if Hiccup had the other half with him now.

"Be safe, son," he whispered and set his helmet back on his hair. "Your father is coming."

* * *

 _Ouch_.

That was Hiccup's first thought.

The second was a string of Norse curses as he _really_ felt his first thought: Ouch.

His whole body ached with pain, and a few spots felt like they were on fire. His ankle throbbed in discomfort, and his side wound from the sea monster was stabbing at him again.

 _Ouch_.

Hiccup suddenly became very aware of how warm it was, which was strange, because it had been pouring the last couple of days. It wasn't supposed to be cozy. It was supposed to be freezing and miserable with a touch of gloominess on the side.

He opened his eyes. Huh. It was all dark. But it was warm. Night, but sunny? He squinted, unsettled. What was going on?

And then he felt the ground move. Hiccup gasped as the activity hurt his wounds even further. For a moment, he was confused. Was there an earthquake? And then everything clicked.

 _Oh_ , thought Hiccup, wincing as his ankle prickled, _I'm inside Toothless's wings._

He hefted a sore arm and stroked the barrier to the outside. The heavy breathing Hiccup had heard stopped, and Toothless's body tightened. His wings unfurled to reveal the outdoors to Hiccup, who blinked at the sudden light. There wasn't a lot of it (the storm was still as jarring as usual), but from someone who had just been wrapped in darkness, it was like staring at the sun.

Toothless' head moved in front of Hiccup, blocking his view. It was upside down, making him look funny. The dragon's wide eyes sparkled in delight and he grinned, showing bare gums.

"Heeeyyy, buddy," said Hiccup with a weak smile. He could hear Toothless's tail thumping on the outside of the wing he was buried inside. "How long have I been out?"

In response, Toothless snorted and licked Hiccup's ear. The dragon was thrilled to hear Hiccup's laugh, and then, " _Toothless_! Alright, alright- I'm okay. Can you let me out of here now?"

After one last lick on Hiccup's face, Toothless let Hiccup slide out from his wings. After a moment of heavy breathing, Hiccup struggled to his feet (er, foot). Unfortunately, that meant putting pressure on his ankle. Crying out, he fell to the ground.

Toothless cooed and stooped over him.

Hiccup groaned. "It's okay, bud… my ankle must've hit something when we… wait… what _did_ happen? Did we crash?"

His Night Fury nodded.

Hiccup's brow creased. "I remember… I remember falling. You- you caught me didn't you? And we must've landed on this island… thank Thor it was here. Maybe our luck's turning after all."

Toothless's eyes narrowed, like, _Really_?

The boy chuckled. "I guess you're right. My ankle's probably twisted, we're injured, and stuck on a probably deserted island." He sighed. "Next, the eye of the storm will come here, too."

Toothless grunted gently and licked Hiccup's sweaty forehead.

In the next few minutes, Hiccup struggled on getting up. He asked Toothless to go find some sort of crutch for him to use, and his dragon returned with a suitable walking stick. He was now propped on it, his injured leg hanging limp, and having only his prosthetic to balance on.

Now, walking with only one good leg had been tough for Hiccup at first, but he had managed through it. He still had feelings in one foot, after all. But now both were unusable, and he had to solely teeter on his prosthetic. Hiccup's side also hurt, adding to the mixture of pain. The downpour didn't help anyone, either.

Toothless noticed his distress and tried to make him feeling better by flapping his tailfin at Hiccup.

It worked. The Viking's eyes lit up. "You still have that? I thought it had been destroyed during the crash… this is great bud, we can fly out of here!"

Hiccup tried to walk forward and promptly collapsed.

He grunted as he got a mouthful of grass. "Ow."

Toothless nudged his side, encouraging him to get up. Hiccup slowly turned and eventually just decided to sit down. He began to worry. "Toothless… with my ankle twisted, I won't be able to control you with only one foot in gear. We'll fall."

A feeling of hopelessness came over him. He and Toothless would be stuck on this island till his ankle healed, someone found him, or the storm wiped him out. Whichever came first.

"Bud," said Hiccup with a sigh. "What are we going to do?"

Toothless gazed at him with gentle eyes, about to snort something, but suddenly, his ears pricked up and pupils narrowed in alarm.

Hiccup reached out to pat Toothless, but his dragon jerked away. For a moment, the boy was afraid Toothless was once again hypnotized, but then Toothless let out a low growl. Hiccup knew that growl. It was a warning. _I'm a Night Fury, and I'm not afraid to shoot you. I'd run if I were your pitiful self._ Or that was at least how Hiccup _imagined_ the deterrent went.

"Toothless, what is it?" Hiccup asked.

The Night Fury's eyes slowly went back to normal, and his ears lowered after a few seconds. He rumbled reassuringly to Hiccup in reply. _Everything's fine_.

Hmm. It had seemed like Toothless had _smelled_ something. Something bad. Hiccup tried to wave it off as Toothless simply not being used to this island. But he couldn't quite rid it from his mind.

"You mind helping me up, bud?" Hiccup grunted. Toothless ducked down so Hiccup could steady himself by holding onto the dragon. Hiccup was reminded of waking up four long years ago without a leg and having to have Toothless help him around.

Hiccup scratched Toothless's neck, smiling at the memory. Toothless led him over to a boulder sitting next to a clump of trees. He was relieved to sit down.

"Alright," said Hiccup. "Toothless, I think I've got a plan."

Toothless's green eyes widened.

* * *

 **I figured you guys deserve a break from cliffhangers, and there you go!**

 **If you spot a mistake, know that I didn't have time to edit this. That's how desperate I am. But I wanted to live up to my promise of updating once a day, so here we are.**

 **Thank you guys for viewing, reviewing, liking, or following! I love getting the notifications. You make my day!**

 **Also, something crazy: we're nearly at 1,000 views! That's AMAZING, guys. Thank you!**

 **See you next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, guys? How are you? Gosh, my updates are getting later and later...**

 **Before I get started on the shoutouts, I really need to say something.**

 **Guys, I've been getting a few guest reviews that are NOT NICE at ALL. The guests pick on any little thing I do wrong and make me feel really bad. I don't let them go through, but I still receive them.** **If anything is off about my writing that bothers you, please tell me in a NICE way if you tell me at all. Please note that I AM HUMAN and I MAKE MISTAKES.**

 **Also, don't sign out and leave an anonymous review just because you don't want me to know who you are. It's fine if you don't like what I write- just stop reading. Don't leave a mean review. Words can hurt, and yours sometime do. I appreciate POLITE criticism, though, but nothing unkind.**

 **Imagine if someone left YOU that review. How would you feel?**

* * *

 **Alright, now that that's out, shoutouts!**

 **katurdi: YOU. SHALL. SEE. Toothless DID smell something... and it ain't good. **

**FanWriter02 : Thank you! Yes, I've been waiting FOREVER to write that chapter with the Hiccup!whump. Pity it was so short (yesterday was SO BUSY). **

**thepurplewriter333 : Well, the plan isn't BRILLIANT, but it's OKAY for Hiccup's situation. Who knows what Toothless smelled? Maybe he has allergies. Maybe they won't leave the island! Maybe Stoick can't leave! MAYBE THE SEA MONSTER IS ACTUALLY A SEADRAGONUS MAXIMUS GIGANTICUS (okay, it's really not). Yay! Glad you enjoyed the Hiccup!whump. There WILL be more in the future, I promise.**

 **Chapter 8, then!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8:**

Astrid brushed rain from her eyes. "See anything, guys?"

"No."

"Nope."

"Nothing!"

"What'd she say?"

The Riders all responded with their typical replies to any question Astrid asked. She sighed and looked around again. _Hiccup, where are you?_

It had been six days since they had last seen the leader of the Dragon Riders. Five days of wondering whether Hiccup was alive. Four days of flying. Astrid was getting even more concerned, though she didn't know if that was possible. How could she worry more than she was already?

"Astrid?" said Fishlegs. "We're almost to Outcast Island… if we haven't found Hiccup yet…"

She silenced him with a glare. "Then he must be with Stoick."

They all knew that wasn't true.

Hiccup had left two days before them, which meant he had seen the worst parts of the storm. The hurricane had especially jabbed the eastern waters of Outcast Island a few days ago. If Hiccup had been in that area… well, it wasn't good news for any of them.

Ruff and Tuff flew up to Astrid on their dragon. Tuff looked excited.

"Hey, Astrid, remember that time-"

"Stop."

"But, do you happen to recall when I-"

"Shut up."

Tuff smiled smugly at his sister, surprising Astrid. "Told you."

Ruffnut groaned. "Ugh. _Fine_."

"What?" Astrid asked, confused, then immediately wished she hadn't acknowledged the twins' crazy behavior.

"Well," said Tuff, "we held a bet. I bet that if I tried to talk to you, you would cut me off. My sis betted that you would listen. I won."

Astrid felt a little guilty. Was she really so horrible? Well, at least Ruff didn't think so...

"Only _because_ we can't bet on the same thing! I didn't think Astrid would listen either. But you called it first!" Ruff yelled.

 _Great_ , thought Astrid sarcastically, _everyone thinks I won't give them the time of day… which I probably won't. But, Hiccup… he's the main concern right now. Not Ruff and Tuff's stupid stunts._

"Astrid?" Tuffnut said. "I'm sorry."

 _Wait… neither Tuff nor Ruff ever apologize…_ , she wondered. What were they up to? "For what?"

"For _this_!"

Suddenly, Barf and Belch jumped in front of Stormfly, spooking the Nadder to the point of nearly knocking Astrid off. As Astrid clutched to her dragon, Ruff and Tuff laughed wickedly. From nearby, Snotlout turned to take in the scene, and his eyebrows raised. He could be an idiot, yes, but even _he_ knew not to trifle with Astrid. Especially in her state.

"You should have _seen_ your face!" chortled Tuff. "It was like, _boring_ , and then it was, _what_ , and then it was like, _ahh!_ , and then it was-"

"ARGGGGGGHHHH!" Astrid screamed, pushing Stormfly forward to ram into the cackling teenagers. "You're messing with the _wrong girl_ , you muttonheads!"

The twins shouted in alarm as they barely avoided a spine shot from Astrid's Nadder.

"Geez, Astrid- have you ever thought about taking an anger-management Viking class?" said Tuffnut. "I think it would be good for someone as… _stressed_ as you."

Ruff nodded along. "Precisely. I went there when Tuff nearly pushed me off a cliff when we were nine, and it does _wonders_ for the troubled mind."

"It really does," Fishlegs piped up, then glanced away hurriedly at the axe-wielding warrior's look.

" _Not. Helping_ ," growled Astrid.

"We're just trying to help you, my dear Astrid," Ruff tried. "You could really use it."

Tuffnut held a hand over his mouth and stage-whispered to his sister, "She really could."

Astrid opened her mouth to yell at the twins but her eye caught on something in the ocean. Something brown and wet. It took her attention away from Ruff and Tuff's antics at once.

Was it… _please don't be_ … _Hiccup_?

"Guys!" she said, pointing to the object. "There's something down there! Stormfly and I are going to go check it out." Before anyone could stop her, she relented to her pounding heart and dove down to the brown thing floating in the water. What was it? A log? Driftwood? Hiccup…?

It was a satchel.

She sighed in relief. _Thank the gods it isn't Hiccup_. She couldn't lose him. Astrid picked the bag out of the sea, shaking water from it. With a frown, she noticed that the satchel wasn't the only thing in the ocean. Pieces of wood and torn paper sagged with the water's pull.

 _The storm must've brought all this stuff in over here_ , Astrid thought as she flew back to the other Riders. _Weird._

"What was it?" Fishlegs called when she returned.

Astrid held up the bag. "Just a satchel. Not…"

Though she didn't complete her sentence, everyone else did in their minds. Suddenly, Fishlegs let out a gasp and hurried over to Astrid on Meatlug.

"What is it, Fishlegs?" said Astrid. He was acting sort of… concerned. Frantic, even.

Fishlegs reached out a hand. "Can I see the satchel?"

Wordless, Astrid handed it over. What, did Fishlegs think there might be something valuable in there? It had been left floating out at sea, for Thor's sake. Of course there was nothing special inside. She opened her mouth to tell Fishlegs this, but he was already opening the bag.

He came out with a few papers in hand, sogging with seawater. He checked them, beady eyes nervous. He let out a string of, " _Oh, Thor, oh, Thor, oh, Thor_ …"s.

"Fishlegs?" Astrid asked. "Are you okay? You're acting kind of… strange. Well, strang _er_."

The boy swallowed, hands shaking. "Astrid… if I show you these, do you promise not to, uh, shoot the messenger?"

Narrowing her eyes, Astrid grabbed away the papers, much to the distress of Fishlegs. "For Thor's sake, what could be so important insi-"

She had checked the papers.

She gaped.

Ruff and Tuff flew closer. "Um, Astrid?" said Ruff. "What's going on…?"

"Yeah, I second that question," Tuff agreed. "I wasn't paying attention. Wait, what are we talking about again?"

Astrid looked liked she'd been shot. "No…," she whispered.

"Astrid." Fishlegs glanced at her. "Yes."

Snotlout was confused. "What the heck are those papers, anyway?" he said. "No one wants to read stuff. They want action. They want _Snot_ -"

"Snotlout!" cried Fishlegs, surprising the entire group. He was usually the one to keep quiet, even if Snotlout was teasing him. "You don't understand. These papers… guys... they're Hiccup's."

Astrid made a sound like she was strangling. And she felt like she was. Because these were obviously the work of Hiccup Haddock III. The work he wouldn't just leave to float around at sea. There was a map, his notebook, a charcoal pencil, and a few pages of scribbled nonsense. No. Hiccup wouldn't have just left it. Which meant that he… that he…

"He must've dropped it," said Astrid shakily. "He was flying on Toothless, and the storm came, and then… then he dropped it."

Fishlegs looked grave. "Astrid… we all know that's not what happened."

No one spoke up, but the answer was there. Something had forcibly removed this satchel from Hiccup. Something big. Even if the Dragon Rider _had_ dropped it, he would've dove back down to find his bag.

 _But what if he couldn't find it? What if it was too dark, and he just left it…_

Astrid looked down at the papers she held. She took the map from them and looked at it. The girl almost smiled when she saw how detailed it was. Yes. This was definitely Hiccup's. There were other marks too. A few round dots touched a few places. Astrid studied them closely and realized something. They were leading to Outcast Island.

She reached a hand up and touched her collarbone. Those must've been the places Hiccup had stopped to rest… they all added up, after all. The first one was the island the Riders had found Toothless's mark on, the next a place called 'The Terror of Terrors'...? The following stop was labeled, 'Thorkell's ship', and Astrid realized the truth with a start. Hiccup had been on a boat. So maybe…

"What are you looking at?" Fishlegs asked, coming up to Astrid.

Astrid glanced over at him. "Hiccup's map. He marked the places where he had stopped, see?" She tapped each dot. "And the last time he marked himself, he was on a ship. _Thorkell_ 's ship… do you know a Thorkell in this area?"

Fishlegs shook his head. "Sorry, but no."

"Well, apparently, Hiccup was traveling with him," said Astrid, eyebrows knit together. "My guess is that they were headed towards Outcast Island, and this Thorkell character agreed to take him. And if they made it…" She scrutinized the map. "There's some dates, I think… Wodensday… Thorsday... Freyasday… Hiccup was there only two days ago."

Her friend looked over the papers again. "Astrid… you're not going to like this, but… but that place where Hiccup marked himself last? That's only a few miles east of where the hurricane hit really hard. And that was two nights ago, too. What if Hiccup was caught in that during the storm? And that's why his satchel is here, and all that other stuff in the water… it almost looks like a shipwreck."

Astrid felt like he had just slapped her. _No… no, no, no, no… Hiccup couldn't be dead… he was their leader… he was alive… he had to be…_

"But he would've flown away on Toothless," said Snotlout. The two looked at him in surprise. He held his hands up. "Hey, Dragon Boy can't always rely on you guys finding him. You can be as dense as me."

"So he's alive?" Astrid breathed.

Fishlegs bit his lip. "Maybe. If he is, though, he'd probably be on Outcast Island… even if he was injured or something, he would want to accomplish what he had set out to do: save his father."

Astrid looked around in the clouds, as if somehow hoping that Hiccup would suddenly appear on Toothless and say something like, "Oh- fancy meeting you here."

"So," said Snotlout, "Dragon Boy's either dead, or flying to his death. Did I catch all of that?"

Fishlegs shot him a look. "Snotlout, I-I'm sure that Hiccup is- and will be- f-fine…" But his nervous stutter said otherwise.

Astrid sighed, hoping that was true. It'd better be true. Or she'd punch someone. Hard. Very, very hard.

 _Please don't be dead, Hiccup_ , she prayed. _We need you…_ I _need you… please, please, come back to us, Hiccup…_ She stroked Stormfly in a moment of pensive. _I can't even imagine a world without you in it._

 _Come back._

 _You have to, Hiccup. You have to._

* * *

"Alright, T-Toothless… low flame… steady, n-now..."

The Night Fury opened his mouth and shot out a small burst of fire onto the metal. It sizzled, and Hiccup smiled in achievement. "Great j-job, bud. This may w-work, yet."

Toothless's tail thumped at the praise, but he was worried about Hiccup's shivering. It wasn't even that cold out today (well, it wasn't raining, anyways), but Hiccup had been freezing since he had woken up from the fall yesterday morning. He now had a sickly appearance, especially since they hadn't had much to eat. The _Peregrine_ had gone done with all of their supplies- including their food. Toothless had gone down to the ocean and caught a few fish, but it was never enough for either one of them.

Hiccup swiped his brow from Toothless's heat. "Well, I hope it works."

Hiccup's plan was basically a distress signal. He wasn't stupid. He knew his friends had gone after him, maybe even his father, too. By now, they would be around his position- not that he knew where he and Toothless were. But they had to be somewhere east of Outcast Island, and hopefully his friends would check there.

The distress signal? Well, even though they had lost nearly everything in the sinking of the _Peregrine_ , Hiccup had always kept a spare prosthetic leg in Toothless's saddle.

He hadn't told anyone, but lately he had been working on this flame-sword thing with Monstrous Nightmare gel. It was just a little project that Hiccup couldn't get to work, but he hoped to make some use of it. Someday. Well, his plan was to make something like it. He would shape his spare prosthetic into some sort of cannon, hold a bit of Toothless's fire in it, then shoot it up. The explosion would burn the sky much, _much_ better than Toothless's plasma blast could've done. Hiccup prayed to the gods that it would work. It was their last hope.

"And…" He prodded his former metal leg. "I-it should be d-done." He shivered, then coughed into his fist. Toothless snorted, trying to comfort his rider. His coughing was as frequent as his quivering now. "I- I'm okay, bud… now, all we need t-to do is find a c-clear spot somewhere t-to set i-t off. Any ideas?"

Toothless cocked his head. Then he nodded enthusiastically.

"R-really? Okay, b-bud, lead me there."

Hiccup stood from the grass he had been kneeling on, wincing as pressure was put on his twisted ankle. Toothless and him had tried to make a sort of cast for his foot that was tied together with branches and vines. It had helped a little, but not much. He now used a set of 'crutches'- which were really just two long sticks.

Toothless started to lead Hiccup through the forest. A few times, he stopped and looked around. Every time, his eyes were narrowed like he smelled something he didn't like. Hiccup was coughing and sneezing too much to pay attention to Toothless's suspicious behavior.

Eventually, his dragon led him to a peaceful beach. Hiccup stood in the trees, watching the shore with interest. So this is where Toothless had gone to catch fish earlier. He was glad to finally move around. Toothless had refused to let the Viking walk around more than he had to. Hiccup was grateful for his concern, but Toothless could really be a mother-hen sometimes.

"Y-yes," said Hiccup, looking around. "This w-will work. It's big enough if there's a… minor calibration i-issue." He chuckled, remembering years ago as he said that to Gobber during that fateful dragon raid. "Well, Toothless, ni-nice work. Our l-luck is finally turn-"

Hiccup was interrupted as someone grabbed him from behind and yanked him through the trees, strapping a blindfold around his head and dragging him deeper into the forest.

Fear bubbled through Hiccup as he realized what was going on.

 _He was being kidnapped._

And he couldn't fight back this time.

* * *

 **C**

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 **Gah, I know I could've ended it better, but I've got to do a lot more stuff tonight, so I just rushed through this.**

 **Also, I was writing this to the HTTYD soundtrack, and IT IS AWESOME YOU GUYS HAVE TO LISTEN TO IT AGAIN.**

 **Thank you guys for viewing, reviewing, following, or favoriting! You make me check my email a million times a day, and I love hearing what you think about Eye of the Storm!**

 **Also, WE REACHED 1,000 VIEWS. Celebration! *throws streamers at you guys* WOO-HOO!**

 **See you guys next chapter! Please leave a review, I love them!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, everyone. *smiles tiredly* Sorry for the late update. Today's been busy, and with writing the one-shot Stoick the Soprano, I got really backed up.**

 **But not too much for shoutouts! I want you to know how much I appreciate your reviews.**

 **katurdi:** **I'm glad you... liked it? Yeah. *nudges you back* You know the backstage of this story. Must be nice, huh? THEN WHY DON'T YOU DO IT FOR ME?! Yes, I will update as quick as I can. Sorry for the wait!**

 **FanWriter02:** **Oh, yeah, cliffhangers are pure EVIL! So I naturally love them. I'm not saying ALL guests are rude, but there has been a few that are really not nice at all. Thanks!**

 **thepurplewriter333:** **Thanks! Well, all of those questions are answered in this chapter, so enjoy!**

 **phieillydinyia:** **Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time... :-) Well, Hiccup has only been kidnapped for about two seconds, so it's not like Toothless 'didn't see'. Of course he saw, but hasn't had time to react.**

 **Thanks for the reviews, guys! Enjoy Chapter 9!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9:**

Hiccup kept on being dragged. He tried to dig his prosthetic foot into the ground to slow he and his captor down, but his kidnapper yanked him up so he was basically carrying him.

"T-Toothless!" he screamed, writhing. "Tooth-"

"I swear," a hard voice growled, "that if you call for help from your dragon, we will shoot him dead. We're surrounding you both, and at my word, my fellow men will fire."

Hiccup gulped.

The voice came back. "But tell the Night Fury not to shoot at us."

"Never," spat Hiccup, struggling again as he was pulled backwards.

"Alright. Men, take the-"

Hiccup interrupted him in panic for his dragon's life. "No, w-wait! TOOTHLESS! R-run! You're n-no help to m-me captured. Go! Stick w-with the plan, a-and-"

A meaty hand clamped onto his mouth. His captor.

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you," the man said. "Or one of my men's dragon root arrows just might _slip_ from his bow… understand?"

Hiccup nodded, though he hated to consent with the man.

Through the trees, he heard Toothless roar out, ready to blast the person who had made his rider disappear, but Hiccup's captor gripped his shoulder, and Hiccup knew what he had to do.

"Toothless, b-bud, go! I couldn't b-bear it if I k-knew they had you, too. You have to r-run, bud-" Hiccup broke into a coughing fit, and once it stopped, tried to finish. "P-please, Toothless…"

He heard Toothless's running slow, then eventually stop. As Hiccup was pulled even further back, a pang of sadness struck him. He was completely alone now, being dragged to somewhere he didn't know and facing an even bigger mystery.

Who were these guys? Dragon Hunters? Hiccup didn't know. He couldn't tell. And that fact scared him more than anything else.

Hiccup was hauled through the forest for another ten minutes. Sometimes, he and his captor stopped. They made turns and twists that Hiccup couldn't even begin to keep track of. Even if he wanted to escape, he probably couldn't find his way back to his dragon.

But, though the whole journey, his kidnapper never spoke again. Any time Hiccup tried to speak, he was responded by a hand over his mouth. Eventually, he just gave up on trying to reason with the man and began to thinkup a plan. He had to get out of this. It was going to be hard, yes, especially with his twisted ankle and Toothless unable to help. But he thought he could come up with an idea, anyways, because that was what Hiccup was best at.

 _Okay. Does this guy have any weaknesses?_ Hiccup wondered. _Well, I don't even know who he is, so scratch that… alright… escape, maybe? But, I can barely walk, let alone run. Alright, next. Get Toothless? However, my captor said that he had men encircling Toothless and me. They might be tracking us… watching us… hmm… maybe I could trick them. But, how?_

Hiccup swallowed. The man's hand wasn't on him now, so maybe he could try to-

"We're here," the kidnapper suddenly said.

Hiccup was surprised when another voice answered him, this one slightly deeper. "Who's that?"

"The dragon boy. Imagine, our luck finding him here."

 _Dragon Hunters, I think_ , thought Hiccup.

"Ah…," the other voice chuckled. "I bet the 'captain' will be pleased to know." He said 'captain' in a mocking way, as if this captain character was not a respectable person.

The man holding Hiccup shifted. "Yes, that's where I'm going. Perhaps seeing the Rider will make him work harder and help to get off this Thorforsaken island."

Hiccup was moved along again, this time at a marching pace. He winced as his twisted foot hit rocks and the ground, but tried not to show much pain. He couldn't show how sick he felt and actually was, because that could be used against him.

They stopped again. He heard a nearby knock that only sounded a few feet from him. Hiccup guessed that his captor was rapping on a door for someone to let them in. Sure enough, a moment later, something squeaked open, and a new voice came.

"What do you want? Who's that?"

"Someone the captain will be very pleased to see."

"It isn't…"

"It is."

Hiccup could imagine the other man staring in shock.

"But, how…?"

"You could ask, you know," Hiccup shot, keeping his nonstop shivering from shaking his voice. "I'm right here, in case you dopes haven't noticed."

Someone grabbed his shoulder. " _What did you say we were_?"

Hiccup wanted to pull the arm away, but his own arms were being held behind his back by the kidnapper.

"Easy, there, buddy. I wouldn't touch me, if I were you."

"And why is that?" the man said in a humoring voice.

Hiccup's voice iced over. "You're a Dr-Dragon Hunter, aren't you?" Oh, gods, his quaking was coming back. "Have y-you even _seen_ of what me and my friends can do? I wouldn't m-mess with me. T-they're out there, w-waiting for a t-time to strike. And if y-you hurt me, I su-suppose now c-could be considered su-suitable."

"Don't listen to him," the man who had taken him grunted. Hiccup wished he could see the two Hunters- if that's what they were. "He's lying. There were none others than that Night Fury, and the others are tracking it down as we speak."

 _Oh, gods. Toothless._ Worry ran through Hiccup. _Please, bud, don't try to save me. Run, bud, stick with the plan…_

"D-do you _really_ w-want to try me?" said Hiccup. "Be-because I don't t-think you do."

Suddenly, he felt something cold and sharp fly to his neck. A knife.

"If you utter _one more word_ , I swear I will slit your throat," growled the first man. "Now, quiet."

Biting another sassy remark, Hiccup retreated to silence.

He was then yanked through a door and inside. The man was nothing but gruff while handling Hiccup after his talking. The dagger stayed at his neck the entire time. Hiccup's captor paused at the end of their walk, making Hiccup stumble and nearly cut himself.

"Captain," the Hunter acknowledged, but his tone was tight and annoyed. "I found this one wandering around near the beach. The Night Fury was there, too, but it got away."

The Captain didn't speak, frustrating Hiccup. How could he know who it was if there was no indication of who it might be? It had to be an old enemy, because it sounded like this man had a grudge against Hiccup. He ran through possibilities in his mind. Viggo? Maybe, but his men respected him and would never talk to him like Hiccup's kidnapper had. Ryker? That was a probability. But the Dragon Hunter would've spoken by now with _his_ arrogance… huh. Then, who was it?

"I'll sit him down, then, since you're too happy right now, Captain," Hiccup's kidnapper said, and pushed the Rider down into a chair. The knife was removed from his throat, and Hiccup could breathe without fear of stabbing himself again.

Hiccup's heart pounded as he felt his captor's rough hands untie his blindfold. His eyes took a minute to adjust to the light, and to see who was sitting in front of him.

Hiccup gasped and startled back, but firm hands held him there.

Dagur smiled.

"Hello, brother!"

* * *

"Come on, guys! We're almost there! Only ten more minutes, and then we'll see if… if Hiccup is there." Astrid was trying to boost the moral of her weary group. "To the Great Beyond?"

"Great Beyond," Tuffnut automatically answered.

"Great Beyond," muttered Snotlout.

"Eh…," said Fishlegs.

Astrid sighed. It had been a… frazzled day. First, they had found out that Hiccup might be dead by the signs of a shipwreck. Then they had had a close run-in with a pack of fleeing wild dragons. And then Snotlout took it into his mind that he had to catch a meal for all of them on a passing island filled with untamed animals. Boar tusks had scraped his arms, and he now held them tenderly around Hookfang, wincing every time his dragon moved his neck.

Astrid squinted into the horizon. "I think I see Outcast Island… it's getting closer, guys! We must be going fast!"

But as they neared the indistinct black object, they realized it wasn't an island. It was a Viking. And he was riding a dragon.

" _Stoick_?!" cried Astrid when they were close enough to see who it was. She was right; the mysterious Viking was the great chief of Berk. He, too, looked surprised to see the Riders.

"Astrid?" he said. "I had forgotten that you had said that you were coming… you _all_ were coming."

Stoick's forehead was creased with worry lines, but he relaxed as he looked around at the teenagers and allowed a tiny smile of hope.

"Hiccup?"

No one dared to answer.

Stoick's smile froze on his face, though there was no mirth left to it.

"Hiccup?"

Astrid stroked Stormfly, trying to vent out her mess of emotions. How did you tell a man his son had not yet been found?

"We thought he was with you," she said softly.

The chief's grin faded completely. "He isn't. He never came. No sign of him. I had thought… I had _hoped_ … but, if you haven't seen my boy… and neither have I…" He swallowed, a look of fury passing over his face. "Why aren't you out looking for him? Hiccup is in trouble, and here you are, flying around without a care in the-"

"Chief!" interjected Fishlegs, incredulous. "We thought that Hiccup had made it! We've been looking for him… we've been flying for four entire days, barely any rest, searching nonstop!"

Stoick's mask of anger cracked, and Astrid realized that he wasn't enraged with them. He was concerned. And this was how he showed it.

"I…," he tried. "I'm sorry. Have- have you found anything? Any clues?"

Uncomfortable, Astrid held up Hiccup's satchel. "Yes, chief… we found Hiccup's bag in the ocean… and… and, well, long story short, he was on this boat, and then- we think- it sank. We agreed that Hiccup would've made it off in time with Toothless… probably… but if he was still flying to you, he would've been caught up in the storm, and…"

Stoick's jaw fell. "No… he's alive… maybe he had to wait it out, and he landed somewhere..."

"Maybe," said Fishlegs, though it was doubtful. "We're still going to look for Hiccup. We're going to find him. Whether he's alive, or… well…" Anyone could finish that sentence.

The elder Viking straightened his slumped figure on his Rumblehorn. "I'm coming with you, Riders. I'm going to find my son, one way or another."

Astrid nodded. "Yes. One way, or another." She turned to look around at her group. "To the Great Beyond?"

There was a sort of misery between all of the teens as they all repeated, "To the Great Beyond…"

* * *

Hiccup stared in shock at his nemesis, mouth fumbling for words that wouldn't come.

"How… why… what are y-you doing o-out here?"

Dagur pretended to pout. "Why, Hiccup, I would think you'd be happy to see your brother! It's been a long time, after all."

Hiccup glared at him. "Dagur, w-what are you doing on this i-island? We're stuck in t-the mi-middle of a hurricane. Have y-tou been tracking m-me o-or something?"

"Hiccup!" His enemy laughed. "Your imagination certainly hasn't dimmed one bit! No, we haven't been tracking you. _Viggo_ 's the smart one, maybe you should tell _him_ that. We just happened to crash near this island like you did."

"Crash li-like I did? You d-don't mean…"

Dagur shook his head. "No, no, not on _dragons_! Ha-ha! Still funny as ever, brother. I mean my ship. There I was, sailing off to raze another village, and suddenly, _boom_! Some stupid storm comes and tosses us all over the place. No more boat. We barely were able to swim here and lost a couple of men. But who cares? They all look the same to me."

From behind Hiccup, the Dragon Hunter's glare was so heated, Hiccup felt it without even looking at him.

"I lost my brother in the sinking of your ship," Hiccup's kidnapper said cooly.

Dagur shrunk back… almost like he was afraid of this man. Hiccup took that into mind in case he had to use it against him. "Well, I said to _me_ … not… most people." He glanced back at Hiccup and grinned. "I can't believe we're _finally_ reunited! You must've missed me so much."

Hiccup tried to still his trembling self. It wasn't that he was scared- Dagur could be an idiot sometimes- but it felt so cold in here. "A-actually, no."

"No? Oh, well. Well, it's good to see you again, brother, even if the feeling isn't mutual. The gods must smile upon us, meeting on the same island!" He smiled ditzily up at the ceiling, then eventually tore his gaze away. He seemed angrier when he looked at Hiccup again.

"It's too bad your Night Fury can't join our little party of fun. But, not to worry," he added with a smirk. "My men with soon find him, because that's what they are… Dragon Hunters."

"Toothless w-will run away," Hiccup snarled. "H-he's a Night Fury. He's s-smart."

Dagur's contempt dwindled away. "Perhaps… but can he _really_ outsmart an entire army?"

Hiccup's brows raised slightly, and he frowned. "Yes. Y-yes, he can."

"Ugh! Brodir!" Dagur called to the Dragon Hunter behind Hiccup. "My brother is tired. I think he needs to go to his room now… how about he stays in those cells we discovered? The moldy ones."

Hiccup glared as the other Viking, Brodir, pulled him from the chair. "Y-you're making a m-mistake, there a-are-"

But Brodir had already dragged him from the room.

* * *

The Hunter led Hiccup across their makeshift camp and down the mossy steps of an old prison. Hiccup could smell the dampness even from above ground, and wasn't at all pleased when Brodir tugged him down the steps. Hiccup bit his tongue trying to not cry out as his bad ankle produced pain at the pressure of walking.

A few minutes later, Hiccup was locked inside of a grimy cell with several leaks. If it were to rain, he would be the first to know.

Brodir left with the keys to the cell without another word. Hiccup didn't feel like speaking to him either. He was too busy trying to warm himself up.

Hours passed in the freezing temperature, and Hiccup shuddered when he felt water dribble on his hair. Looking up, he discovered another hole in the ceiling. Great. Evening went by slowly and night fell soon after. Hiccup was now lying on the cold floor of his cell. He should've been thinking and trying to escape. But he was hurting. He was freezing. He was alone.

"Hic- _cup_!" a familiar voice sang from the stairs.

Hiccup turned his head to acknowledge Dagur, who was staring at him with a broad smile. Hiccup's light source, a torch hanging on the wall, illuminated his crazed expression. "How do you like your new home?"

The Dragon Rider closed his eyes. He wasn't going to give Dagur the time of day.

"Aw, no 'you'll never get away with this's, or my favorite, 'you're messing with the wrong people'? Alright. Well…" He cackled maniacally. "It's night. Go to sleep, get some rest! We've got a big day planned tomorrow." He started to go back up the steps, but stopped and looked around.

"Oh!" He grinned. "Sweet dreams, _brother_."

And then he blew out Hiccup's only source of light, leaving Hiccup quavering and alone in the darkness.

* * *

 **Does that count as a cliffhanger? Well, maybe as thepurplewriter333 put it, a HILL-hanger. Just barely.**

 **Thank you guys for reading, and I hope you are liking it so far! By the way, there are only six more chapter left in this story! *swipes tear away***

 **I MIGHT not be able to update tomorrow. I've got a boatload of school, and a Spanish Oral Exam that counts for a sixth of my grade. *shivers* Wish me luck!**

 **Thanks to anyone who viewed, reviewed, liked, or followed. I love you guys so much!**

 **Also, special shout-out to SunshineGirl14, who even though doesn't always review, ALWAYS PMs me on how she felt about the chapter and makes me feel so happy. Thank you, friend, for your undying support! Also to katurdi and thepurplewriter333: thank you guys for constantly PMing me and being so great to talk to, even if it's 2AM in the morning. I'm lucky to have found you all!**

 **Till the next chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, everyone! *waves energetically* I'm back again!**

 **I'm SO SORRY I didn't update last night. See, for these past couple of weeks, I've gotten an average of about 6 hours of sleep per night, and it caught up with me. I nearly fell asleep during dinner, and my mom said I needed to go to bed early. And I did. So, now, I feel well-rested and ready to write! *fist bump* Woo-hoo!**

 **Oh, and guys, I got a 92 on the Spanish Exam, if you were wondering. Not as great as I was hoping for, but still really good, seeing as I'm in a class where nearly everyone is at least two years older than me.**

 **Alright! Shoutout time!**

 **katurdi:** **YES! YES, HE'S FINALLY HERE! Thanks! And, yes, it is sort of hard to write stuff a maniac would say, because Dagur is so unpredictable at times, so I really had to think it out. *pats self on back* I'm awesome, aren't I? :D**

 **FanWriter02:** **Thank you! Yep, only a hillhanger... that time. Aw, thank you! That means so much! Good luck on your journey through the Spanish language. Thanks!**

 **phiellydinyia:** **Trust, me, there is going to be a reasonable explanation for them finding Hiccup. They're not just going to stumble across him. Think back, to ah, late Chapter 8. Yes. That is the key!**

 **Hiccstridlover13:** **Thanks for helping me with that! It was my last Oral for the year, so I'm so pumped! I love learning Spanish, though, it's one of my favorite subjects. I'm just more of a writer, not a talker. I can understand the context very fluently if someone writes it out, but if you talk... well, I'm not the best with that. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **thepurplewriter333:** **Yeah! Finally some Hicc-sass! There's going to be a TON of it in this chapter, so, yay! Oh, yeah. I've got PLANS for Hiccup. *rubs hands together* Yes! I love that. Hill-hangers. Ha ha. Thank you!**

 **flopy:** **I know! I kind of scared myself there, because I never planned out chapters 10-12... 0_0 But, never fear! THE AUTHOR IS HERE!**

 **TheWoofster:** **Aww! Your review made me grin the hugest smile. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I'm so glad! I felt like I was rushing it at first, then going to slow, and was never satisfied. Thanks! Oh, yes, I love the father and son bonding more than anything else. Sibling and parent bonding is THE BEST. Thank you!**

 **And now, what you've all been waiting for...**

 **CHAPTER TEN!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10:**

Toothless sighed and set his head down. It had been hours since he had seen Hiccup. One moment, they were standing there, smiling about the luck they had finally achieved The next, Toothless glanced towards Hiccup's direction only to see that his rider was gone. He had simply vanished.

Then he had heard Hiccup screaming his name. Everything finally clicked. The weird smells Toothless had sniffed out, the prickly silence of the forest... Hiccup's disappearance. The clues were all there.

They weren't alone on this island.

Roaring, Toothless had barreled forward to save his friend, only to hear Hiccup shout out again for him to stay. Finish the plan. Not get captured. The boy was soon cut off, making Toothless worry even more. But after a few moments, he hadn't gone after Hiccup. The Viking was right. Toothless was no good to Hiccup captured.

So the dragon had ran away, back to he and Hiccup's camp. There, he would hide and figure things out. But the Dragon Hunters soon followed and Toothless, much to his aggravation, had to flee once again. And he didn't even get to shoot at the Hunters.

Toothless had spent most of the day cramped in quiet corners or scampering around. His first priority was to lose the bad men, then he could finish the plan and finally save Hiccup. He didn't know if he could wait till the other Riders came. Hiccup was in danger, and that was the only thing that blared through his mind.

Now, Toothless was squished inside a tight cave that those burly Hunters wouldn't think a Night Fury could squeeze into. He was safe. For now.

Toothless raised his head and sniffed the night air. Darkness and rain had fallen across the forest a few hours earlier, matching Toothless's mood. Angry thoughts spilled through the dragon's mind. _Why hadn't he gone after Hiccup?_ Now, he couldn't tell where his rider was or what he was facing.

Toothless had made a plan while running around the previous afternoon. Tomorrow, just as dusk was coming, he'd try and set off Hiccup's peculiar contraption by the beach. It pained Toothless to do so, but he knew that was his best bet for calling for help. Hiccup had told him that bright things looked more prominent in the darkness, so the blast would look like the sky over their island was exploding, and therefore attracting attention. But he and Toothless had agreed to set it off as soon as they finished the machine. They needed help as soon as possible, even if it wasn't as sufficient as it could've been. However, Toothless, had only one shot at this. This had to work, or Hiccup was in bigger trouble than he already was now.

The Night Fury whimpered. _Hiccup_... He hoped the boy was safe. He'd better be safe, or Toothless had a few choice plasma blasts for the people that had kidnapped him. Who were 'they', anyway? The big man they called Ryker? Viggo, the unnervingly smart one? Or that deranged chief of the Berserkers, Dagur? Toothless couldn't tell from the scent of any of the Hunters he had smelled. They were just flesh, meat, and human.

Toothless shivered as a gale of wind blew through his spot. But part of his shudder was fear. Yes, the one and only Night Fury, offspring of lightning and death itself was afraid. For a Viking, of all things. The dragon snorted, wondering how his four year previous self would've handled that.

 _Hiccup_ , thought Toothless, closing his eyes. That would be his last thought for the night. _Hiccup_.

 _Be safe, rider. Be safe._

* * *

Hiccup came back to consciousness feeling truly and completely awful. His twisted ankle throbbed, his head pounded with a headache, and his side scratched by that cursed sea monster burned.

And almost worst of all, his cold was worse. His coughs sounded hollow and he sometimes spat out mucus with blood in it. Being cold was a permanent state, and his body resonated with shivers. No guard had brought him a blanket, nor a meal. Hiccup would've been grateful for even just towel, or maybe a bite of chicken to just pacify the sharper hunger pains. He didn't think he'd ever felt this hollow, even after waking from the long coma after battling the Red Death.

Still quaking, he sat up to look around. A little sunlight spilled in through the opening and the holes in the ceiling. Hiccup longed to go outside and actually see the sunrise. Or was it later than that? Mid-morning? Afternoon? He wished he knew.

He rubbed his numb hands on his arms, trying to warm himself up. Did the cells have to be on what he believed the be the coldest part of the island?

Before Hiccup could go too much into it, he heard footsteps come down the stairs. It was that Dragon Hunter, Brodir, from yesterday. Hiccup's kidnapper. The Rider slid back against the wall as Brodir came closer.

The Hunter squinted at Hiccup's shuddering figure. "Boy, I've got some news for you."

Hiccup attempted to stop quaking. "O-oh?"

"My captain, or as you call him, Dagur, will be arriving here shortly. He asked me to be his..." The Hunter's voice iced over to brittleness. " _Entourage_."

Hiccup shifted. "You d-don't li-like him too m-much, e-either?"

Brodir glared at Hiccup, though his scowl seemed to never leave. "It's not my place to say that, dragon boy. Now hush up and prepare for the Captain."

The Hunter pivoted to leave, but stopped when Hiccup cried out an exclamation.

"What?" Brodir snapped.

Hiccup swallowed back a cough that was itching his throat. "H-have you c-caught T-Toothless yet?"

Brodir's expression tightened. "Not yet. But, soon, boy, my fellow Hunters will find him." He made a move to go again, but Hiccup wanted to learn as much as he could when he had the chance.

"W-why a-are t-these cells h-here o-on the is-island?" he chattered.

Brodir regarded Hiccup with suspicious eyes. "This used to be dragon hunting ground," he said. "Ryker and Viggo's ancestors stayed here, we found out. They kept the ones who did really any crime, no matter how small, down here. The gods themselves landed us here as a sign that we shall once again spill dragon blood."

And before Hiccup could manage a reply, he was gone.

* * *

True to his word, Dagur appeared a few minutes later, flanked by hulking guards. The Berserker's grin made Hiccup nearly mutter, "Another reason you're called deranged..."

Then Hiccup noticed something. Dagur was carrying stuff in his arms. His bleary eyes widened when he realized what they were. Blankets. Food. Was Hiccup finally getting some humanity from the villain?

Apparently not. Because with another smirk, Dagur spread the blankets on the floor, just out of Hiccup's reach, and sat on them.

"Morning, brother!" he said cheerfully, setting the food on the fabric to keep it from touching the grimy floor. "I hope you had a nice sleep in my visitor wing! You like it, don't you?" With a cackle, he ripped off a piece of bread and started to chew. He pretended to just notice Hiccup's salivating stare.

"Oh! Do you want this?" Dagur asked.

Hiccup recoiled back. He didn't want to eat anything that _Dagur_ had touched. But his stomach… gods, he was starving. But he knew that Dagur would never give Hiccup anything he didn't have to. "Wh-what's the c-catch?"

Dagur seemed disappointed. "You _are_ smart. Nearly _everyone_ falls for that trick. Yes, yes, there's a catch... see, I need information. Nothin' big, you know. Just a little something to destroy this place, or get rid of that person. What do you say?"

Hiccup rubbed his temples. His headache was getting stronger, and he coughed a little into his fist. "Y-you just s-said I-I'm smart. I'm n-not g-going to t-tell you a-anything t-that c-could h-hurt my friends o-or my v-village."

The Berserker's smile faded.

"Well, Hiccup," he began, "too bad, because I am going to extract every little piece of information I need to know from that teeny coconut-shaped noggin."

Hiccup sighed. _Oh, gods, not this again..._ "Y-you know I-I'll n-never break."

But Dagur didn't appear to hear him. He was too busy coming up with his first question.

"Ooh, this is so exciting! My first interrogation... I usually just run them through, then ask questions- but this time, my suspect is alive!" He clapped his hands in glee, then took a bite of fish. "Alright! Now, this will be useful... what's the best way to sneak into your base?"

Hiccup rubbed his arms, trying to warm himself. "I-in the w-wide open w-where w-we c-can see y-you. You s-should be c-carrying a fl-flag. A w-white one, a-actually."

At first, Dagur seemed to be considering this, but glared when he realized what Hiccup was actually saying.

"Fine," he snapped. "We'll come back to it later. Next... how do you get a Night Fury to trust you?"

"Well, i-it's pretty simple, a-actually," said Hiccup, an answer ready. "Y-you sew h-hundreds of fl-flowers o-onto y-your clothes. P-pink ones, i-if you c-can get them. T-the girlier, t-the be-better."

Dagur's eyebrows arched. "Really?"

Hiccup refrained from rolling his eyes. _He actually believes this? Okay, I can work with that_. "O-of course. T-the N-Night Fury i-is a d-dark c-creature, r-right? S-so, t-there's th-this thing c-called Edgity H-Haddocky-" he paused to cough into his fist "-wh-where w-when t-the creature o-if near ex-extinction is d-drawn t-to it's op-opposite c-"

Dagur waved his hand. "I don't care about the reasons. Is there anything else?"

Hiccup sneezed, wincing as the action hurt his side. This talking certainly wasn't helping him. He prayed that Toothless would set off his invention soon so he would be rescued. "Y-yes. Y-you have t-to j-jump around singing "I-I'm A L-Little Viking" wh-while d-doing a H-Hooligan rain d-dance."

"Huh. How does that- AGH! Brother!" Dagur was angry. "You're not making this easy, Hiccup! You could have a bed, food, warmth, treatment for that ankle of yours... oh, yes, I've noticed. So what do you say?"

Hiccup stared his nemesis down. "I s-say I-I'll take it a-all."

"Hiccup, just think about- wait, really?" Dagur seemed genuinely surprised.

The Dragon Rider held up a trembling finger. "B-but I d-do h-have one c-condition."

Dagur's brow produced wrinkles. "And that is what?" His voiced turned to baby-talking. "That I won't hurt any of your friends or family?"

Hiccup leaned forward, like he was sharing a big secret. He grimaced as his body protested to the movement. "M-my condition i-is that I d-don't t-tell you a-anything. Th-that's a f-fair d-deal, r-right? Or h-how a-about w-we switch places? M-me, captain o-of an a-army, and y-you stuck i-in a jail c-cell. That's e-even fa-fairer!"

Dagur was getting really annoyed, much to Hiccup's satisfaction.

"Alright! How would you train, say, a Monstrous Nightmare?"

"I-I'm not t-the r-right person t-to ask."

"Oh?"

The Dragon Rider rolled his eyes. "I h-have a N-Night Fury, in c-case y-you didn't n-notice. N-not a N-Nightmare. You s-should ask S-Snotlout. He's t-the guy wi-with one of t-them."

Dagur blew out a breath, trying to make sense of things. "So... this Snotlout knows all about them. And you don't..."

Hiccup shook his head. "Ac-actually, he's n-not the brightest, e-either. Y-you know, i-it's not Night F-Furies who a-are the m-mystery. I-it's the N-Nightmares."

"Next question, then?" said Dagur quickly, before Hiccup could confuse him further. "Okay. Who is the most vulnerable person on your team? The boy, Fish-face? One of those twins?"

"D-definitely Astrid," Hiccup answered. "She's h-hopeless with a-an axe, s-so if she h-has one, y-you're w-winning."

Dagur set down his fish, frowning like he was no longer enjoying the meal. Hiccup, however, was relishing this, despite how cold he was. Despite how the smell and sight of food made his stomach gurgle.

"How many dragons guard your little island stronghold?" Dagur interrogated.

"Hmm... I f-forgot. L-looks like I-I've lost m-my memory! I-I'll just p-put it with y-your sanity- so-something that's a-also lost."

Dagur's jaw dropped. "Brother!" He looked around at his guards, who were whispering with each other. "Hey!" the Berserker yelled at them, whipping them to attention. "If you're not going to watch me, the leave! Of course, that means facing my wrath for being a coward..."

The guards that had started to move froze and returned to their places.

With an irritated look, Dagur looked back at Hiccup. The sight of the Rider made his lip curl. "What's the best way to get past the dragons?"

"Make as m-much n-noise as p-possible. T-the louder you a-are, the l-less likely t-they a-are to find yo-you."

"Hiccup!" said Dagur through clenched teeth. "I've been trying to be _nice_ to you, but you clearly don't appreciate it!"

"Y-you're right, I-I d-don't. In fa-fact, you should j-just s-stop r-right now," Hiccup told him. He was now so cold that his arms were numb. Should he've stopped taunting Dagur so maybe he'd get a blanket or two? But as he looked at the Berserker's blooming purple face, he didn't regret a thing.

Dagur actually didn't seem very angry. Just sort of insane and annoyed, like he got when something or someone was frustrating him. He even gave a strained little laugh.

"Fine? You want me to leave?"

"I-I do, a-actually."

Dagur stuffed the food in his blankets. "You know, brother, I was going to give you maybe some bread or a blanket, but _you- are_ -"

"I-I'll take t-them b-both," said Hiccup pleasantly, reaching out a shivering hand and coughing into his other. At once, he realized just how bad he sounded.

"You- I- AGH!"

Hiccup really enjoyed irritating Dagur.

Suddenly, Dagur tossed in half a loaf of bread and a sheet that was so thin and small that Hiccup knew it wouldn't help. Much. It could still assist him, even if only a little. So he grabbed the gifts before Dagur could change his mind.

The Berserker chief waved a threatening finger, and in that moment, Hiccup saw Dagur not as some delusional man on a goose chase after him. He saw him as the frightening enemy he could be: Dagur the Deranged.

"I can't let you die, Hiccup," growled Dagur in a low voice. "Viggo and Ryker wanted to watch _that_ pleasure... but, brother, I _can_ make you suffer." With a cackle, he gathered his blankets and the remaining food, then stomped out of the prison. The guards soon followed, but Hiccup noticed them muttering to each other. He wondered what they were talking about.

Hiccup held his bread in his hands and took a small bite. It tasted so good that he had to visibly restrain himself from stuffing the rest down. He had to make it last. Plus, he hadn't eaten for awhile, and couldn't put too much in his stomach or it'd come right back up. He then draped the blanket around him. However, it barely gave him any warmth.

Even though Hiccup was freezing, starving, nauseous, and weak, he had these little triumphs. Pushing Dagur to his breaking point, getting food and a blanket, knowing that Toothless was still safe and not captured. So despite it all, he allowed a tiny smile to spread across his face. It was small. It was tired. It was faint.

But it was there.

* * *

Stoick felt hopeless. It was a strange sensation, one that he wasn't used to. He was the great chief of Berk, wasn't he? He was supposed to be fearless. Ferocious. Intimidating. Nothing could stand in his way. He could control anything and everything.

Everything but this.

The Riders and Stoick had been scouring the ocean for Hiccup since they had grouped up. There was no sign of the boy or his Night Fury, which didn't surprise Stoick that much. There was a colossal ocean out here, and Hiccup… well… he wasn't the biggest person. Finding him would be nearly impossible. Stoick let out a sigh.

"Chief?" said Astrid, flying up to him. She was rubbing her arms in the light rain. "It's getting darker out. The Riders… we think we should stop soon."

Stoick stiffened. "And stop looking for my son? No. I think that we should keep going. Tonight could be the night we find him. We can't stop now."

Astrid winced, seeming to expect this response. "Stoick, we've been flying all through the night… I don't know if you have noticed, but we all need rest…"

"What? No! We're all as fresh as we were when we woke up yesterday," Stoick protested.

Of course, at that moment, Snotlout let out a snore, slumped over on Hookfang. He was fast asleep. Ruff and Tuff weren't talking as much. Their chatter was more of slurred murmurs that didn't make any sense. Fishlegs and Meatlug were dipping from the clouds. Even Astrid was heavy-lidded. It appeared that only the chief of Berk had energy.

Astrid yawned. "See what I mean? We'll just stop for a couple of hours… get back up right away… it's not like we can find Hiccup in this coming darkness. Fishlegs guessed it was supposed to storm heavily later on, too, and his calculations are almost always correct."

Stoick struggled to make a comeback, but Astrid was right. They needed to rest, and even if they did somehow stumble across where Hiccup was, they wouldn't be able to see him.

"Fine," said Stoick, hating to agree. "But just for a few hours. Until the storm leaves, at least."

With a tired smile, Astrid nodded. "Thanks, Chief. And, don't worry. Hiccup is creative. Whether he's flying lost on Toothless, landed on an island, or facing a herd of angry Changewings, I bet he can make his way out of it. He's Hiccup. Just-"

 _BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!_

Something impossibly loud nearly shook them off their dragons, who were freaking out at the noise. Stoick's ears were ringing, but he managed to hold Skullcrusher still and look around for the source of the noise.

He didn't find that, but he did find something. Something so horribly awful, he couldn't process it.

Stoick the Vast's jaw hung open as he watched, just over the horizon, as the sky itself exploded and raged with spurting fire.

* * *

 **So... SKY-HANGER!**

 **Wait. That didn't make sense. *shrugs* Who cares?**

 **Thank you, everyone, for viewing/reviewing/liking/or following! By the way, we're at about 1700 views! That is AWESOME! Thank you! I can't even imagine a hundred people viewing my work. You guys are the best.**

 **I think I'm going to MAYBE write a one-shot today, but I've got to do the dishes, and I'm having a sleepover tonight, so maybe not. This is kind of a mid-way chapter. I'll try and write SOMETHING tonight and maybe post it, but Saturday is alarmingly busy this week!**

 **Alrighty, then! Five more chapters to write, Hiccup!whump to plan, Dagur to make deranged. Until Chapter 11!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Well, THIS is a late update! But at least it's here. YAY! Sorry for taking so long, I had a small family crisis to take part of.**

 **Alright! Sorry if this seems too rushed or there are sentences that don't make sense, but I don't have enough energy to edit this as thoroughly as I usually do.**

 **Shoutouts!**

 **thepurplewriter333 : THE HORROR OF SKY-HANGERS! AGHHH! You do get what I meant by that... right? Thank you! Yeah, haha, Hiccup sass is the best! I know, I really just torture Hiccup, don't I? I know! It IS beautiful.**

 **flopy : Hahaha! Now THAT should be a RttE episode. I do promise that something LIKE that will happen in this during Chapter 13. You guys will love it. **

**katurdi : I know! It's so fun to write, because Hiccup can infuriate the calmest person if he wanted to. Thank you, and yes, I had a great sleepover! We only stayed up till, what... um, not going to post it on here... :-)**

 **phieillydinyia : 1) Glad you liked it! Hiccup can lighten even the darkest scenes. 2) Yeah, it's true! Your stomach isn't used to the sudden intake of food and can't handle it. I know, surprising, right? 3) Hmm... WAS it Toothless? We'll never know, will we? **

**Thank you guys SO MUCH for the reviews! Also, I wanted to tell you guys that Eye of the Storm has gotten over 2100 views! *happy dance* OMT OMT OMT OMT!**

 **Here's Chapter 11!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11:**

 _B_ _OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!_

Hiccup startled awake from his shivering sleep he had fallen into a few hours ago. He was shaking from the cold and from being jolted from his rest. For a moment, he laid panting on the ground, but struggled to a sitting position. What was that? A scheme of the Dragon Hunters? A lightning strike that was alarmingly close?

 _Wait_ , thought Hiccup, trying not to get his hopes up, but failing. _I know something that would make an explosion that big... something that I myself made just a few days ago..._

Hiccup swallowed.

 _The attraction for help. Toothless followed through... I may be saved..._

He couldn't keep the grin off of his face. His suffering would soon be over. Someone would come to check out what was going on. Hopefully, the Riders, or his father. Of course, they'd have to face Dagur's army, but hadn't they all done that before? They could do it once again, if it meant saving him.

 _But I was always there_ , Hiccup realized with a pang. _I always made the plan. If I'm not there... no. They don't need to depend on me. They can do it. I trust them._

His heart leapt at the thought of seeing his friends again. He hadn't realized just how much he missed them until being kidnapped and locked in a cellar. He thought of Ruff and Tuff and their foolish antics. How much he had actually appreciated their stunts until there were no more.

Snotlout. Though arrogant and sometimes _very_ annoying, a true friend in which a crisis brought out the best in him.

Fishlegs. Nervous, bookish Fishlegs who he babbled to about his inventions and shared dragon knowledge. In a way, they were best friends.

And Astrid... ferocious, stubborn Astrid who he had crushed on all his life. He had never told her, but suspected she had guessed... but he had always wanted to tell her than some feelings remained.

These thoughts made Hiccup want to rush to greet them. Hiccup bit his lip, pulling his sheet tighter around him. _Can I escape?_

He looked around for something that could break open the door open. Unfortunately, all he had in his cell was the blanket and a forth of a loaf of bread. After eating half of what he was given earlier, he didn't have much of an appetite anymore. There were also some puddles of water that had dripped in from the holes in the ceiling. Taking a glimpse upwards, Hiccup discovered that the rain had turned to a flurry of wet snow. His luck was just the best, wasn't it? Then he glanced outside of his cell.

He gasped.

Why hadn't he looked earlier? Because on the wall across from his, far right side, a pair of keys hung. Hiccup scooted over to the bars of his prison and reached out.

No. They were way too far away. He needed another plan.

Hiccup's mind was already at work: his blanket. He could tie it in a knot, throw part of it out while holding the end of it, and hope it latched onto the keys. He coughed into his fist, unable to stop trembling. Taking off his sheet did not seem like an attractive idea. Yet it was the only way.

Sighing, he took it off, wincing when he realized how cold he would've been without the fabric's comfort. Icy wind bit through him, snow brushed on his arms, and he felt worse than before, if that was possible. He was freezing, but when he touched his forehead, he was surprised to feel sweat.

It was hard to believe that he had only been in captivity for less than thirty-six hours. It had felt like much longer to him. Well, at least he had food and a blanket. Well, not the blanket right now, but he had had one for the past few hours, which helped. Still, he was growing weaker.

Hiccup's hands were quaking so much that he could barely tie the blanket and make a loop at the end. Even doing something as little as this, he was exhausted and wanted to go back to sleep- somewhere warmer than here, preferably.

 _Done._

He was done.

Hardly able to believe his good fortune, he let a smile form on his lips. He could escape, find Toothless, get help... but, oh, Thor, how he wanted to just rest for a little bit...

 _Hiccup_ , he told himself sharply, _don't get distracted. Escape. Get to Toothless. That's what you have to do right now. Then you can sleep._

The Dragon Rider nodded to himself and raised the blanket up. Getting a good swing, he tossed it out, making sure to keep a hold on his side. The sheet thunked the wall a little, then slid down with accomplishing its purpose. Hiccup sighed, his heart rate beating abnormally quickly. He took in a deep breath, then pulled the blanket back, arms shuddering. He tried again, and missed. But he was closer.

 _Almost there, Hiccup, almost there..._

Just as he was about to throw again, he heard footsteps. Knowing that someone was coming downstairs to him, he untied the blanket and pulled it around him like he had been sitting there for hours.

He was surprised to see Dagur materialize in the dim light.

"Brother!" the Berserker greeted with a small grin, but it didn't have much mirth left in it. "I wanted to talk to you."

Hiccup didn't answer.

Dagur continued like the boy had replied. "So, I was just talking with Brodir, my guard, and suddenly, this huge blast came! None of my Hunters knew what it was, so I used my own wit and think that you, clever little Hiccup, have pulled a stunt." The smile became almost mad. "Hiccup... what was that explosion?"

Hiccup raised his eyebrows, but inside, he was panicking. A stream of thought ran through his head: - _Dagur knows of course he knows the explosion wasn't exactly quiet oh Thor I have to cover this up-_

"W-what ex-explosion?" he said innocently.

Dagur took in a strained breath, trying to calm himself down but failing. "I don't know. Maybe that _really loud one that just went off a few minutes ago_?!"

The Rider shrugged. "I d-didn't he-hear a-anything."

"I- _I_ \- AGH- you- _Hiccup_!" Dagur sputtered. Hiccup held back a smile at Dagur's frustration. "Well, _maybe_ if I show you the fire- I don't know- burning up the sky over out island, just _maybe_ you'll remember!"

Dagur grabbed the keys from the hook on the wall and came over to the cell. He unlocked it, then yanked Hiccup up. Hiccup gasped as pressure was put on his twisted ankle and nearly fell. He hadn't tried to walk since he'd been thrown in here, and there was a good reason: to let his ankle heal without much difficulty. Moving it only made it worse. But Dagur wasn't exactly known for being gentle.

Dagur started to pull Hiccup from the cell, half-supporting him. Hiccup's blanket slid from his shoulders at the motion and to the floor, much to his discomfort. They climbed up the stairs and to above-ground. The wind was harsher here, and Hiccup didn't think he'd ever been this cold in his entire life. And that was saying something, as he had lived on Berk for many years.

Dagur then pulled up a tree-stump seat so he wouldn't have to hold Hiccup up anymore. A few guards milled about and stopped, wondering why their only prisoner was out of his cell and with their captain. Hiccup noticed them watching with confused looks.

The Berserker pointed to the sky, which despite the gray clouds, had a molten red mixed in.

"See?" Dagur exasperated. "There was an explosion. I _told_ you! Ha!"

Hiccup about rolled his eyes.

"Now _what did you do_ , brother?" said Dagur.

"N-nothing!" Hiccup protested, too chilled to make a better come-back. "H-how w-would I, a p-prisoner no-not e-even wo-worthy o-of a b-bed, d-do s-something li-like this?"

Suddenly, still watching the burning sky, Hiccup saw something. Black dots in the distance. They were tiny at first, but as they flew closer in, Hiccup realized that they were dragons. He glanced at Dagur, but the chief of the Berserkers hadn't noticed. Yet. He was going on about how smart Hiccup must've thought he seemed, and how wrong he was.

The dragons grew larger with each passing second, and Hiccup saw that they weren't the only things up there. Vikings sat upon them. And not just any individuals.

The Riders had come at last.

An elated feeling took away the frigid weather for a moment. He would be saved. His friends would get him. He'd go back to Berk right in time for Snoggletog... it was all working out at last.

But, of course, it actually wasn't.

Dagur was noticing the way Hiccup was staring at the sky, and was about to look up. Hiccup saw this, and knew that Dagur would see the Dragon Riders if he so much as turned his head to where Hiccup squinted. He had to distract him.

"S-so," said Hiccup, rubbing his arms. "Y-you th-think I s-set o-off s-some ex-explosion?"

Dagur straightened. "Of course! You're Hiccup, and do your Hiccup-y stuff. This is exactly the kind of thing you'd do!"

Hiccup shook his head doubtfully. "Da-Dagur... t-this looks l-like s-something I-I've s-seen be-before... som-something b-bad..."

"What?" said Dagur, hesitant, yet believing.

"Y-you do-don't know?" Hiccup feigned shock.

Dagur cocked his head. "No."

"We-well, y-you k-know w-what a G-Gronckle is, ri-right? G-good. W-well, I-I d-don't kn-know if yo-you've h-heard th-this a-a-about them, b-but t-they're a-actually t-the fi-fiercest d-dragons i-in the archipelago. T-they c-can s-send o-out a b-blast t-that a-attracts ot-other dragons t-t-to t-them... li-li-like the e-exxplosion y-you j-just s-saw. S-so, if y-you s-see a-any dr-dragons fl-flying i-in, they're j-just lured i-into t-the G-Gronckle s-so it c-can e-eat them." The Gronckle was now becoming a Deathsong in Hiccup's mind. But at least if Dagur did see his friends' dragons, they would be excused for a few moments.

Dagur sort of seemed to believe this, but still looked dubious. "I thought Night Furies were the most dangerous."

Hiccup clucked his tongue. "N-Night F-Furies? N-nah. B-but Gr-Gronckles..." He shuddered, though that was due to the fact that snow was falling on him. Not that Dagur needed to know that. "I-if y-you ever s-see o-one, th-the o-only t-thing y-you c-can do i-is h-hide a-and pray i-it d-does n-not find y-you."

He felt silly quoting the previous Night Fury entry in the Book of Dragons, but Dagur's shocked look made it worth it.

"Really?" said Dagur.

"R-really," Hiccup confirmed. "W-watch out f-for them."

Dagur blinked. "Oh. Alright. Eh... thanks."

Hiccup gave him a huge smile, which confused Dagur further. "N-no pr-problem," he said sweetly. "J-just do-doing my b-best to h-help t-the co-community."

The Rider looked up to the fiery sky again. The fire had mostly died out by now, but lingers of it still remained. However, his friends had disappeared. Hiccup was beyond relieved. Dagur hadn't seen them. There was a chance he could still be saved.

Then he realized how awful he felt from being out here, already sick and wounded. Any thought of food made him want to turn away. Images of moving nauseated him. His breath was shallow, then quick, and then shallow again. _Gods, I need to go back inside..._

"Well, enough time out here," Dagur chirped. "Can't have prisoners thinking they'll be let out all the time. Get up, then."

Hiccup shot him a look. "I-I c-c-can't w-walk, D-Dagur. My an-ankle is t-t-twisted."

Dagur groaned, but helped Hiccup stand, then limp over to the entrance of the prison. Hiccup shivered. He didn't want to go back down there. To the cold. Darkness. To be alone again. He considered fighting the Berserker, but he just knew he'd never get away in his state. And so they descended back down to somewhere Hiccup actually feared to return.

He was soon locked in his cell again, leaning against the wall in a sitting position. He closed his eyes, too tired to get his sheet back... maybe he could just slip into sleep for a little while... a few minutes... hours.. _days_... just a little...

But right before he fell asleep, a cough choked him. His eyes flew open as he wheezed and hacked. The boy's chest burned in protest. But he couldn't stop. _He couldn't stop coughing._

Hiccup wanted to cry out for help. From Dagur. From Brodir. From anyone, really, he didn't care anymore. He needed to stop. Not wanted. _Needed to_.

His coughing fit lasted for a full minute or two, then dwindled out. Grimacing, he tasted the metallic twinge of blood and mucus in his throat. The hacking finally stopped, and he was left with a rapid breath and heart-rate.

Hiccup squeezed his eyes shut, shaking with chills. Sweat trickled down his neck. From fear. From fever. From hopelessness.

"Hu-hurry, g-guys," he whispered and clutched a hand to his chest.

The Rider's head slumped. He gave another shudder.

" _H-h-hurry_..."

* * *

Stoick jumped off Skullcrusher, his brow furrowed.

"What _was_ that?" said Astrid. She had already departed Stormfly and was walking around the shore they had landed on. That was where the source of the fire had looked to be coming from. The flames themselves had been doused by the light snow they had endured as they flew closer to the island.

"No idea," Fishlegs replied, landing Meatlug. His Gronckle was slower than the rest of the others' dragons. "It looked like something _exploded_. Could it be a dragon?"

Astrid shook her head. "That fire was _way_ too big to be any dragon we've seen."

"But!" said Tuffnut, holding up a finger. "You said that _we've seen_. Perhaps there is _another_ dragon... a giant one... one that we've never seen before... a dragon of mass destruction that could destroy the entire archipelago!" He finished with a dramatic flair of the hands.

Everyone looking at him with raised eyebrows. Even Ruffnut said, "Bro, I don't think that was any dragon."

Stoick sighed and turned towards the woods that lined the beginning of the shore. He wanted to continue looking for Hiccup, but had been outvoted to come here five to one. Why? Well, there was certainly a reason. But he didn't care. Hiccup was the only thing that mattered right now.

 _Woosh_.

There was a black blur in the trees. For a moment, Stoick wondered if he had actually seen it, or if it was just sleep deprivation catching up to him. But then he saw it again.

 _Woosh._

"Riders!" he said harshly, gesturing to them. They stopped their argument on whether or not there was a monster dragon living on this island and looked at him.

Stoick pointed to the woods, where he saw the black figure again. "There's something in there," he grunted. "It's watching us."

Astrid cocked her head, staring intently in the trees. She let out a gasp as she saw the thing move again. "Something is _definitely_ there."

Tuffnut crossed his arms. "Monster dragon. Knew it."

Ruff shoved her twin. "Just let it go, okay?"

Stoick and Astrid advanced forward to the woods, on edge. Astrid took her axe, and the chief a dagger. Fishlegs, never one for fighting, gave a squeak and shrunk back. Snotlout just rubbed his arms in the cold and the twins debated whether it was rude or not to make a snowman in the circumstances.

Stoick tensed as he saw the flash again. He motioned to Astrid to get ready and she nodded back. This could be a dragon, and they didn't want to harm it- but then again, it could be something else... something that would not hesitate to kill them... Stoick swallowed. _For Hiccup._

They charged.

Stoick was immediately met by a heavy form pouncing on him. Roaring out, he tried to smack it, but the thing was too quick. He heard Astrid holler and join the fight. With the two fierce Vikings working together, they soon brought the monster down on its back.

Astrid gasped and barely managed to stop herself from knocking whatever it was out.

" _Toothless_?!"

The Night Fury's mouth was open to send a fatal plasma blast out, but he calmed when he saw it was just Stoick and Astrid. His teeth retracted and he gave out a whimper.

Stoick got off of Toothless, still stunned. "Dragon?" he said. Toothless rolled to his feet, clarifying it was him. "How are you... well, never mind. It's good to see you." His shock wore off a few seconds later. "Where's Hiccup?"

At the boy's name, Toothless whined and ducked his tail inside his stomach, like something was wrong. Stoick felt uneasy, not liking that.

"Dragon, is my boy in trouble?" asked Stoick, and fearful of the answer.

Toothless roared, then nodded. Agitated, he pawed the ground.

Astrid took over. There was a sternness in her eyes that Stoick recognized as concern for her friend. "Toothless, where's Hiccup?"

The dragon shot a plasma blast at a tree, then opened his wings and tried to fly. He fell after a couple of seconds.

"He must be in the woods," said Fishlegs, having heard the conversation. Ruff, Tuff, and Snotlout also wandered over. "But why is Toothless here and Hiccup not? They're always together."

"Yeah," Snotlout added. "Have you guys _ever_ seen them apart?"

Tuff thought about it. "Well, there was that one time-"

Snotlout held up a hand in an annoyed fashion. "Whatever! That's not the point!"

Stoick stared at Toothless, his worry disguised as anger to the Riders. "Hiccup's in trouble. I know he is. Dragon, what happened?"

Toothless snorted. Stoick, frustrated, waited for an answer.

"Come on, Toothless, I know you can't talk, but show us!"

The Night Fury huffed at him, then sat on haunches. He mimed walking, then pretended to be dragged into the woods by an unseen force. He had to do it several times before first Stoick realized what had happened.

"Hiccup was kidnapped," the chief breathed. "But, how? Why? You and my boy must've landed here for a reason... not able to fly back, perhaps, but you have your tailfin... and this island looks abandoned, there can't be anyone on it..."

Toothless shook his head. He then motioned for Stoick to check his saddle. Stoick opened out one of the pouches and was surprised to find a metal contraption.

His picked it up, startled to find it hot, and examined it. "This is interesting," he said. "Looks like something Hiccup would appreci..." Understanding dawned on him as he looked it over again. "No... Hiccup _did_ appreciate this... this- this used to be Hiccup's leg! But, why... no. No time to explain. Hiccup is in danger, and we must find him."

Everyone chimed in their consent.

"I do kind of miss Princess Outpost," Snotlout admitted after.

"Then it's settled," said Astrid, crossing her arms. No one had seen her look more intense. "We're going to find Hiccup. And tonight."

Stoick shivered as snow continued to fall. No matter what any of them did, everything just kept on getting worse.

There were so many questions unanswered. Who had kidnapped Hiccup? Why hadn't Toothless gone to find him? What had Hiccup done with his leg? But none of those inquiries mattered. Only Hiccup did.

 _Son, hang on_ , he prayed. He blew out a shaky breath, barely holding in his desperation.

 _Daddy's coming._

* * *

 **DUN-DUN-DUN!**

 **Will the Riders find Hiccup? Will Hiccup survive the sickness he has taken on? WHAT WILL HAPPEN?**

 **Find out next chapter, which will be posted either tomorrow or the next!**

 **Thank you guys so much for viewing, reviewing, favoriting, or following. Love you all so much!**

 **Now, I've really got to go to bed. Good night! Thanks for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey, guys! I'm FINALLY BACK!  
**

 **In case you were wondering, FanFiction has been having problems for the past two weeks. No chapter alerts were sent out for the chapters I posted. So I stopped writing this story and waited.**

 **Well, yesterday, it started working again! HALLELUJAH! So I just deleted Chapter 12 and am reposting it now so all you lovely people can get the alert.**

 **For those of you who have read Chapter 12 already, CHAPTER 13 WILL BE UP TONIGHT OR TOMORROW AT LATEST. I PROMISE I HAVE NOT BEEN SLACKING OFF. I WROTE TWO MORE STORIES DURING THIS TIME.**

 **For those of you who HAVEN'T read Chapter 12, enjoy!**

 **Well, here are shoutouts!**

 **katurdi : I know! *rubs hands together* It's exhilarating to write, too!**

 **FanWriter02: Aw, thank you! That means so much to me! I'm so glad that you like it. I will update as quickly as possible.**

 **phieillydinyia : Well, the Riders didn't know that Hiccup was kidnapped, and had to have a moment to understand Toothless. He can't speak Norse, and they can't speak dragon, so it's a little hard to communicate... but, yes, they really need to get moving! *pushes the Riders* Go on, now! Shoo!**

 **thepurplewriter333 : Really? Yay! I was under the impression that it was sort of a filler chapter, as this one will sort of be. I know... Hiccup's gone through so much in HTTYD, but can he really survive this?**

 **TheWoofster : *straightens tie proudly* Yep. I do! Ooohhhhhh, boy, Stoick is FURIOUS. Dagur... well, let's just say he's going to face the consequences. Stoick is that overprotective father: you mess with him, you mess with me. Thank you! :D**

* * *

 **Chapter 12:**

The Riders decided to leave Toothless at the beach in case anything else was attracted in by whatever had caused the fire. Astrid suspected the explosion had something to do with Hiccup, but was too busy worrying to think too much of it.

Toothless was very upset at the decision. He seemed to want to go after Hiccup, too. Astrid had to wonder why the dragon hadn't before. The girl told Toothless very sternly why he couldn't come.

"No one can fly you," said Astrid. "You'd have to run below us, and we'd lose track of each other. Whoever has- has _kidnapped_ Hiccup will be expecting a Night Fury to come and save him. You know Hiccup would never forgive me if I let you get captured. And he wouldn't forgive you either, Toothless, if you went and did something idiotic."

Toothless snorted, but he eventually agreed to stay. He was sulking in the trees by the time the Riders and Stoick flew off.

"So, we're just, what, searching?" said Snotlout. "Why can't we just fight stuff?"

Astrid didn't face him. "Scan the trees, Snotlout. Whoever has kidnapped Hiccup must have a camp somewhere… somewhere to hold Hiccup."

Stoick let out a growl at that.

Anger clenched Astrid's senses. Whoever had taken Hiccup _would pay_. Hiccup was not only the son of a chief, but the first person to ever train dragons. Anyone in the archipelago who had befriended a dragon owed Hiccup. Yes. Whoever had Hiccup would _suffer_. She'd make sure of that. She and Stormfly would- with perhaps a little help from her axe.

"Anyone see anything?" Astrid called. It was pretty hard to, seeing as night was falling, and remnants of the explosion reddened the clouds. Also, the light snow was growing thicker and more difficult to see in.

"Um…," began Tuffnut, looking around. "The sky. Trees. More trees. And also-"

Fishlegs cut in, his nerves frayed to annoyance. "Tuff, this is no time for jokes! We're looking for Hiccup. And yes, it is inappropriate to build a snowman right now!"

Tuff wilted at his decision, but didn't give up. "Fine, fine. But I also see-"

"Tuffnut!" Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Stoick yelled at once.

Ruff gave a late, "C'mon, bro."

Her twin blinked. "What? What'd I do? Whatever it is, it's Ruff's fault."

As Ruffnut nearly pushed Tuff off their dragon, Astrid squinted into the trees, scanning. She had gotten distracted by the twins, and had to set her priorities straight. Hiccup was in danger. And a lot of it. They had to find him… before… before it was too late…

"I see it!" Fishlegs squealed, pointing his arm down into the trees. Astrid saw faint marks of brown and tan. A few tiny dots slowly moved around. Definitely a camp. Gods… how had she missed that?

Tuff stared at it. "I saw that already," he bragged. "But you guys probably thought it was another tree! Well, can't blame you, there _are_ a lot of trees, but I was right…"

While Tuff rambled on, Stoick looked ready to storm down there declaring war, but Astrid stopped him before his Viking instincts took over.

"Chief, we should fly low and sneak up," she suggested. "Land a little ways away in the trees so we have the element of surprise if we decide to attack. Plus, we have fire-breathing dragons." She scratched Stormfly affectionately. "What could happen?"

Stoick sent over a flare, but it didn't have much heart in it. "Fine. Perfect. Let's go."

The group directed their dragons downwards and practically touched the trees. As soon as they were close enough, Astrid whispered for them to land- and quietly. She didn't need the twins ruining _another_ mission by setting something on fire too early.

Soon enough, they were on ground again, a little ways away from the camp. The Vikings told their dragons to stay out of sight while they checked things out. There was a good chance that whoever had kidnapped Hiccup was a Dragon Hunter, and they couldn't risk their dragons being captured. They'd have no way home, and a huge loss of defense on their side. And even if they got captured, their dragons would most definitely come and free them.

They hid behind a group of trees and watched the camp's activity. The men hustling about were definitely Dragon Hunters, all wearing the same armor and mirroring builds. Astrid had always wondered where they had found enough of these men who wanted to kill dragons. Overall, most of the archipelago had made peace with the beasts by now, however slow trust came.

"Anyone see Hiccup?" Astrid breathed.

Tuffnut shifted, not liking to keep still for so long. "Ooh, we're playing that game again? Okay, okay. I spy a Dragon Hunter. And another Dragon Hunter. Wait, that's the same one. They all look the same, it's so wei-"

"Shh!" everyone hissed.

"I don't think he'd be out in the open," said Fishlegs, "if he's a prisoner. But, who knows? The Hunters can sometimes surprise you… well, at least, Viggo or Ryker can." He gulped. "Hopefully, it's not Viggo…"

Stoick held up a hand to silence him. "Quiet, Riders, we must listen…"

All conversation ended as they turned their ears to the scene. A nearing Hunter began to speak to another that seemed to be standing by a cellar hatch.

"Your rounds are done," he grunted. "I'll take over."

The one who had been standing dutifully by the hatch stepped away. "Fine by me." He started to complain a moment later. "I don't see why we have to guard the dragon boy. It's not like he's able to escape."

Astrid could feel the air tense as Stoick's countenance went from mildly irritated to pure enraged. She barely managed to grab his arm in time to stop him from barreling out.

"No, Stoick!" she whispered, tugging him back. "You'll get captured. And then you wouldn't be able to find Hiccup."

The chief appeared not to be listening, but he did stop trying to break free. His face was a murderous scowl by now. Those Hunters would meet an unfortunate fate when Stoick was through with them.

They turned back to the Dragon Hunters conversation.

"Well," the one taking over the first Hunter's shift said, "the boy's friends might come. They always do, don't they?"

"That's right," Snotlout muttered, punching his fist threateningly. He seemed to be a protective older cousin right now. "We do."

The Dragon Hunters talk continued.

"But this time, they won't get him," the first Viking challenged. "We'll be gone in a few days. New ship's almost ready."

Fishlegs glanced at the others. "New ship?"

Understanding, Astrid looked back at him. "Their ship must've been destroyed in the storm. That's why they're here," she realized. "They're building another to get back… and apparently, it's almost done."

Fishlegs gulped.

"True," the second Hunter said. "Can't wait till Viggo finds out we caught the Friend of Dragons…" He sniggered. "Won't we be rewarded…"

 _So it's not Viggo who has Hiccup_ , Astrid thought. _Good. Then it's either Ryker or Dagur…_

She wasn't sure which one she wanted to face more.

"Alright, I think I'm going to go get some rest," the first yawned. "See you later."

"Mm."

The two Hunters switched places. The Riders watched in dying interest.

Stoick's fingers twitched, ready to attack. "There's only one around now… I can sneak up, knock him out with the others noticing… get Hiccup…then-"

"Uh-uh," said Astrid, shaking her head. "Way too risky. I've picked up a lot of things from Hiccup over the years, and I know we need a plan. And a good one," she shot towards Ruff and Tuff, who were opening their mouths to suggest a probably stupid idea.

"I propose," she continued, ignoring how Tuff's face grimaced, and he muttered, "Propose?", "that we leave-" she caught Stoick's angry look. "-and come back in an hour or two. We should make a strategy. A battle plan. Our dragons can't do everything for us, as much as I hate to admit it."

Fishlegs nodded. "And we should have one group doing an aerial assault," he said, "while the other attacks on ground. That way, we'll surprise them even more."

Astrid smiled at him. "Great idea, Fishlegs. Now, Chief...? Do you agree?"

Stoick cast one more glimpse over the Dragon Hunters. In the shadows, Astrid suddenly saw him as the fearsome chief of Berk. Not her best friend's father. Stoick meant business. These Hunters would face his wrath in the end.

"One hour," he growled, giving the Riders his full attention. "One hour more. Then, we will fight."

As the group slid back into the trees to where their dragons were waiting, Astrid paused. Her face was set in an obstinate way that one could question.

"One hour," she whispered, looking back at the Hunter's camp. "One hour till we come and you see exactly what happens when you kidnap one of our own. You're about the face the fight of your life."

Astrid glowered as she started to walk back.

"Be prepared."

* * *

"Hello? Are you alive, brother?"

Hiccup's eyes cracked open. He was lying as far away from the door as possible, yet Dagur was hovering above him. Hiccup didn't even try to get up; Dagur didn't deserve even a little bit of his attention.

"Brother!" cheered Dagur, seeing the signs of life in the Rider. "You _are_ alive! Good. Didn't want Viggo snipping at me for letting you die." His voice darkened. "That's why I'm here, actually. Alright, Hiccup, you should probably sit up…"

When Hiccup didn't move from his shuddering state, Dagur got annoyed.

"Come on! Move!"

Still, Hiccup ignored him. His eyes closed and he yearned for sleep to take him once again.

Dagur wouldn't have it. He pulled Hiccup up into a sitting position, making the Rider groan. His twisted ankle was still very sore from using it just a half hour ago. His scratched side was doing a little better- an infection hadn't set in, and since the wound had been shallow, it would heal nicely.

The Berserker grinned over Hiccup. "Glad you're awake, brother. See, I kind of forgot some interrogation questions… hehe, silly me… but never fear! Dagur is finally here!"

Hiccup let out a quiet groan that Dagur didn't catch.

"So," he began. "I was just wondering… how _did_ you find this island? Why are you even out here? Aren't you supposed to be celebrating Snoggletog in your little village?"

Should Hiccup tell the truth? No harm would come out of it… yet, he didn't want to cooperate with Dagur. Not one bit. So her stayed silent. He would've loved to tease Dagur further than before, but didn't want to show how much he was shaking. He could barely form a word without stuttering.

"No answer, huh?" said Dagur. "Well, then, where would your Night Fury hide? We still haven't found your friend, yet."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. Like _he_ would answer that. He was very relieved, though, that Toothless had managed to avoid capture so far.

Dagur pouted. "Nothing? Not even a little hint? Well… I guess we can wait till tomorrow for that." He sighed. "In the meantime, I brought you something…"

The elder Viking offered Hiccup a tattered blanket the boy hadn't realized he'd been holding. Hiccup took it with trembling hands and set it in his lap.

"Here," said Dagur with a smile. "Made especially for you." He cackled, but when he didn't earn any laughs, he stopped. "Also, this." He took his pouch that was hanging on his side and opened it. A smoked eel lay inside. Hiccup shuddered, remembering Toothless's first reaction to one of those. He had never liked eels, either. He wasn't even hungry right now…

Dagur pulled the eel out the full way and placed it on top of Hiccup's new blanket.

"Look at me!" he chuckled. "So giving and sympathetic… well, we _are_ brothers! Brothers share, you know… so how about that information in return?"

Hiccup threw him a withering look.

"No? Fine. But tomorrow, be ready." Dagur looked over Hiccup. His pale skin seemed transparent in the torchlight, and his fingernails almost looked blue. Dagur had to wonder whether he'd survive the night. If not… well, that wouldn't be any fun. No more brother to vow revenge on. No more crushing defeats. No more, "You'll be sorry, Hiccup Haddock!"

"Make sure you eat that eel," he added after a moment. "Big day, big appetite. And you won't be getting fed as much tomorrow."

With that, he turned and left the cell, making sure to lock it behind him. Not that Hiccup would've been able to run away. Even if he did get out of his cell, he would never make it up the stairs, much less past a hundred Dragon Hunters.

Hiccup stared down at the eel. His stomach showed no longing for any food- it even turned at the thought of eating. But Hiccup knew he needed energy, and food gave Vikings vitality. When his friends came ( _hopefully soon_ , he prayed), he couldn't be lying helpless on the floor. He was Hiccup… he never needed help… no, no, he helped others, not the other way around… he had to be strong…

He struggled to keep his eyes open, knowing that if he fell asleep, there was a good percentage he might never wake up… he felt so horrible, after all, that maybe it wasn't such a bad idea… if it was warm, that was good… in sleep, he never felt pain… never felt so burdened… free… free from all of… _this_ …

... _stay awake, Hiccup, stay awake_ …

Hiccup picked up the eel and stared blearily at it.

He didn't want to eat.

 _But you have to_ , his mind nagged. _Help your friends… always… never forget…_

With a sigh, he bit into it, cringing at the taste. Though his reasons for not liking eels were different than Toothless's, it didn't mean he hated it any less.

 _Eat. At least a fourth of it. Come on, now._

Was that Astrid's voice? Hiccup hoped it was. He missed her.

 _Two more bites._

That was his father. _Hey, Dad._

He took another bite.

 _You can do it, Hiccup._

Hiccup smiled, almost delirious. His friends were rooting him on in his sleep-clouded brain. Gods, he wanted to see them all… at least once more…

 _All done._

Three-fourths of the eel remained. His stomach felt queasy at the intake of food, but he did feel a little more awake.

Hiccup wrapped his new blanket around him, then crawled over and retrieved the other. Double the warmth. But he felt sleepy, now… less sleepy in the cold, however, and that was good… and he was a great deal more comfortable, too…

 _Stay awake, Hiccup. Wait for us._

All of his friends. Coming. To save him.

A smile played on Hiccup's lips.

 _Just a little longer._

 _Almost there._

He drifted off.

* * *

"Alright!" Astrid yelled at her team, holding up her axe to silence them. Their chatter ceased. "Now," she said, "the chief and I have made a battle plan of what we should do. Listen, here…"

"There will be an aerial assault, and a land attack," she continued. "We will split into two groups. I will announce the groups now…

"Stoick, Ruff, and Tuff, you will be the aerial assault team. Your dragons are better acquainted to the skies than the others, and will therefore give us an advantage. Fishlegs," said Astrid, turning to the boy. "You'll be part of the ground attack. That way, Meatlug can eat as many rocks as she needs to to supply enough lava blasts we require."

Fishlegs hugged his dragon. "You here that, girl? A large supper tonight!"

Meatlug rumbled happily in response.

Astrid crossed her arms. "I'll be with you, along with Snotlout."

The said Viking grinned and flexed. "Couldn't keep away from all of me? I know, it _is_ pretty hard to resist… isn't that right, Hookfang? HOOKFANG!" The Monstrous Nightmare had blown a puff of smoke into his rider's face, making him cough in return.

Astrid rolled her eyes and resumed her talk. "Though Stormfly's spineshot can take out any Hunter, my axe has something to say to those fools who took Hiccup."

Tuffnut scrambled up, looking eager. "Ooh, can I come, too? Macey _also_ has something to say." For effect, he held his mace up in the moonlight.

"No, you can not come with us," Astrid scoffed. "Barf and Belch are very stealthy, and we'll need that in the air. You're…" She struggled with her words, then spat them out carefully. "...valuable. Well, at least your dragon is."

Before the twins could get too excited about that comment, Toothless bounded up, looking expectant.

Astrid allowed a weak smirk. "Yes, Toothless, you're coming with us. Ground attack. If… if Hiccup was here, you'd be in the skies, but seeing as none of us can fly you…"

Toothless gave a decided nod. He was ready to get back in the action again. Shoot some plasma blasts at the people who had taken Hiccup. They would suffer. And hard.

"Is everyone prepared to leave?" said Stoick, looking anxious to get going.

When the Riders all told him they were, everyone boarded their dragons. Toothless would follow below them as they flew.

The ride back to the camp was spent in tense silence. It was chilly with the snow falling, and too dark to see much of each other. No one really felt like talking, anyways. They were too busy prepping themselves for battle. Even Ruff and Tuff were challenging each other to who could take down the most Dragon Hunters, which didn't make sense, as Barf and Belch were the same dragon.

"There it is," said Fishlegs quietly. Seeing the camp, the dragons began to fly towards it. Astrid caught a glimpse of Toothless running beneath them, struggling to keep up seeing as he couldn't fly.

They landed. They were further away from the camp than earlier so they could meet up with Toothless and get ready.

"Chief, Ruff, and Tuff, you'd better start flying," Astrid suggested. "Stoick, give us the signal to attack whenever you're ready."

"Wait, what's the signal?" said Tuff, alarmed. "I wasn't listening."

Astrid gave a frustrated sigh. "Tuff, I think you'll know it when you hear it!"

"I was just _asking_ …," she heard Tuffnut muttering as the aerial assault group flew off.

"Soooo…," Fishlegs began. "We're g-going to go into battle. Now. In just a m-minute."

Snotlout raised his eyebrows in a peremptory way. "Yes. What, are you getting cold feet, Fish-face?"

"No!" said Fishlegs indignantly, but his squeak said otherwise.

"No turning back," Astrid murmured.

"You guys ready?" asked Snotlout.

Astrid faced the boys. They were stunned by the eerily calm look on her face. They were about to fly into a full-fledged battle, and she looked like she was going on a flight with Stormfly. Wasn't she nervous? Or was it just her being… Astrid.

"We're ready," said Astrid. "Let's go to the sides and wait for the signal."

The Riders advanced to their spot. Astrid squinted at the camp. A lot of Hunters seemed to be out tonight, carrying large pieces of wood and other materials. _The boat_ , she thought.

She turned her head to the place where a Dragon Hunter was guarding a hatch. The hatch that led to Hiccup… locked down there… all alone… what condition would he be in? She prayed that Dagur hadn't hurt him. For that, he would _really_ pay.

Stormfly nudged her, sensing her agitation. Astrid patted her back. "Thanks, girl… don't worry, I'm ready for this. For Hiccup, I'll do anything." She looked around her, at her friends. They were risking everything for this mission. " _We'll_ do anything," she amended.

A feeling of determination swelled inside of her. She wouldn't come back without Hiccup. Her friend. Her best friend. Perhaps a little more…

Just as she hefted her axe, she heard Stoick's powerful and condemning voice cry out, alarming the Hunters.

Stoick yelled it again.

" _CHARGE_!"

And at that moment, all Helheim broke loose.

* * *

 **"...in my undies!" -Gobber**

 **Hope you guys liked that chapter! Battle scene will be in the next.**

 **Thank you guys SO MUCH for viewing, reviewing, following, or favoriting. You mean the world to me.**

 **See you next chapter!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm back for the second time today! Yay! I hope you all liked the previous chapter, and enjoy this one even more. I've got a bit of everything in it.**

 **I'm really sorry, but I don't have time for shout-outs. But, don't worry! I read every single one of your reviews! THANK YOU!**

 **Here is Chapter 13!**

* * *

 **Chapter 13:**

Everything happened at once.

Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, and Meatlug attacked from the ground, while Stoick, Ruff, and Tuff came down from the sky.

The Hunters were stunned at the surprise invasion, but fell into the battle quickly. Swords clashed. Fire scorched the ground. The previous peace vanished and war cries rang out into the chilly night.

Snotlout charged in with Hookfang, hollering.

A rival Hunter paused from about to try and shoot Skullcrusher from the sky and turned to fight the Dragon Rider. His eyes widened when he saw Hookfang slithering up behind Snotlout.

"YEAH?" Snotlout roared. "YOU WANT A PIECE OF US? COME ON, FIGHT LIKE A MAN!"

Right before the Hunter approached, another ran up and stopped him.

"No!" the second gasped. "I was down there when the Cap'n was doing the interrogation, and the dragon boy said that them Nightmares are the most mysterious... ev'n more mysterious than a Night Fury! The Dragon Conqueror doesn't ev'n 'ave one…"

Snotlout was confused. Did he just say that Nightmares were the most mysterious? Who had said that? Well, the Hunter had name the quoted person 'the dragon boy', which probably meant that Hiccup did- but why would he say that?

Huh. Who cared? There were people to fight! No time for thinking!

"Let's do this, Fangster!" Snotlout cried, and rushed forward. "DEATH OR GLORY!"

The Hunters' heads turned to face each other, and at the same time, they yelped and ran away.

Snotlout was even more baffled. He hadn't even knocked them out yet!

"DEATH TO YOU, THEN!" he spat. He smugly crossed his arms. "Snotlout, Snotlout, oi oi oi!"

Meanwhile, Fishlegs was watching the pair in interest. He had been about to take on those Hunters when Snotlout came along. At first, he was angry at the Viking for stealing his thunder, but then he was curious about what those Hunters had said…. perhaps he could talk to them… he was a good negotiator, after all… what had they meant, 'Nightmares were mysterious'?

However, a moment later, something captured his eye. A couple of Dragon Hunters were advancing towards Snotlout in the brush. Snotlout was too busy congratulating himself on his victory to notice. But Fishlegs did, and knew that Snotlout's arrogance would get him killed if it kept up.

So he patted his Gronckle and yelled, "Go ahead, girl! Spew!"

The dragon had just aten a few rocks and was ready to fight. Growling, she trampled forward and readied herself to shoot. The Hunters saw her and responded with gaping mouths.

"That's the Gronckle dragon that kid was talking about!" one whispered to the other. "It sounded frightful from what he had described!"

The second Hunter whimpered and took a step back as Meatlug advanced.

"Uh... AHHHHHH!"

Throwing his weapon in the dirt, he ran from the scene, soon followed by his friend.

Meatlug stopped short, stunned. She turned her head to look at Fishlegs and cooed, wondering what was going on. Fishlegs had no clue. He hadn't heard the Hunters' conversation.

Snotlout came over to the pair. "Fishlegs, what's going on? Why are all these usual brainless muttonheads turning into cowards? They usually throw themselves at us to get blasted. And I want a fight!"

Fishlegs shook his head, perplexed. "I have no idea. Well, at least we'll get Hiccup quicker if this keeps up."

"Hey!" the boys heard Astrid shout. She had just called for Stormfly to shoot a spineshot at a Hunter. "What are you guys doing over there? Get in here, and fight!"

"But, Astrid-"

She didn't listen, for another Hunter was approaching. Fury filled her.

These- these idiots had taken Hiccup. Kidnapped him. Put him through Thor knew what. If Ryker had him, Hiccup had probably suffered through his grudges against the Dragon Conqueror. If Dagur had Hiccup... well, Dagur was a madman- if he was the villain in this, she didn't know what he had done to Hiccup.

But she did know one thing.

These Hunters... oooohhhh, Thor, they were going to be faced with the wrath of Astrid Hofferson.

With a roar, she sprinted from Stormfly's side and to the Hunter. She hefted her axe high and brought on a mask of rage. No, this was not a mask. It was real. More real than any anger she'd ever felt.

The Hunter looked concerned at first, but then relaxed. He even smirked and lifted his mace like he had this in the bag.

 _What?_ thought Astrid. _They've seen me before. They know how much damage I can do. So why is this son-of-a-half-troll not worried?_

"Little girl!" the Hunter began.

Astrid skidded to a stop, panting.

Fishlegs and Snotlout turned to watch the unfolding scene.

"Oh, Thor," squeaked Fishlegs. Snotlout appeared as though he wanted to cover his eyes. Because no one got away with insulting Astrid.

Astrid's jaw clenched, and if looks could kill, the Hunters' bodies would be piling up in a matter of seconds.

" _What_ did you call me?"

She inched forward.

The Hunter swallowed, a little more doubtful at his claim.

"I said, _little girl_."

Astrid froze for that one burning second. Her eyes were smoldering more than fire.

The enemy gave a little laugh, which faded into the battle sounds of his comrades' fight against the Riders. "Your boyfriend talked, little girl. We and Dagur know that you're hopeless with the axe. Come on, now; it's not too late to surrender."

A flash of understanding hit Astrid. _Dagur_ was the cause of their troubles. _And he must've interrogated Hiccup in the meantime... and he told him I was lousy with the axe. Hiccup, why would you-_

Oh.

A smile creeped up on her lips. Hiccup had tricked these Hunters, and Dagur. Fed them lies about the Riders to give his friends the advantage.

 _Oh, dragon boy_ , she acknowledged. _That's so like you._

"You know what else I'm bad at?" she said innocently.

The Hunter spread his arms, ready to hear another one of her weaknesses.

Her smile turned sinister.

" _Missing_."

And she charged up to him, a new energy coursing through her body. Now she knew that Hiccup was alive and well enough to make his usual quips.

She grinned.

He was alive.

 _He was alive._

Her axe met the side of the Hunter's head, and he grunted as unconsciousness claimed him. He laid still on the ground. Astrid gave him an extra kick for good measure, and without missing a beat, turned back to the battle.

Fishlegs and Snotlout stared at her, unmoving in their wonder.

She blew a strand of hair from her face. "Well, don't just stand there! Get moving! Now!"

Snotlout saluted. "Will do, babe!"

Astrid rolled her eyes, but she was too busy knocking down another Hunter for the boy to see it. Still, it didn't have much exasperation in it, anyways. Because now she was full of hope.

Hiccup was so, so close.

And she was almost there.

 _Almost there._

* * *

Hiccup was very confused.

He had woken up a few minutes ago by loud sounds. Yelling. Clashing of metal. It was all fuzzy in his muddled mind. Nothing really made sense anymore. He kept drifting in and out, torn between reality and dreams. Was he on Dragon's Edge? In a cell? But, why would he be there…? No, that's right… he had flown to Berk for Snoggletog… ooh, Snoggletog, that was a fun holiday… he remembered that time when eggs exploded… Astrid had kissed him… Astrid… Astrid? Was she here… no… wait, what was he thinking about again?

More yelling.

More sounds.

Hmm. Sounded like swords.

A jolt ran through him. Was there a fight going on?

His body protested it, but he dragged himself up. His entire body racked with shivers and he wanted to throw up. Oh, gods, why had he eaten that eel...

A sudden memory caught him.

The Riders. They were coming for him... how long had it been since… oh, he hoped they were close… huh… were they here?

His heart skipped a beat. His friends were finally, finally here… to rescue… to save him… save him from this agony… was the room spinning? It was sort of hot… no, cold… he was shivering, after all… maybe he should sleep… sleep always helped him when he was sick… sick… was he sick…?

 _Snap out of it, Hiccup_ , a voice growled inside of his head. _Rescue. Remember. Your friends need help._

"R-right," he muttered, nearly biting his tongue from his chattering teeth. _Need to help Riders. Get out of here. How?_

He turned his weary head around, searching for something to help him get out. His focus locked on the keys he had spotted earlier. Could he get them? No… no… he couldn't lose any more heat than he absolutely needed to. He required these blankets. He couldn't lose one, even if it might get him out of the prison.

But he needed something to escape. He couldn't abandon his friends!

A little nagging voice that sounded a lot like Astrid's told him that he wasn't abandoning them, but he ignored it. Even if he wasn't abandoning them, he was still letting them fight a battle he could help with. And that was wrong. He was supposed to be their leader, he couldn't leave them now...

Grunting, he pulled himself over to the cell bars. It was colder over here, and he so wanted to fall back asleep… he could drift off right now… go back to that warm, happy place… mm…

No.

 _Sleep means death. Stay awake._

He shook his head, trying to clear it, but the action only made his headache worse.

 _Focus, Hiccup! You need a way out. What can bend the bars? Unlock the door? Come on, you have to do this every day- think!_

He looked down.

And he saw it.

He had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but… oh, Thor, he had to do it. For the Riders. For his father. For himself.

So, with a grimace and a sigh, he moved his hands to his prosthetic and began to take it off.

It was hard work. Especially to his palms, which felt like they were being cut open from the cold. They burned so much, that he wanted to stop. The metal had absorbed the freezing temperature and made him want to recoil back. But he pressed on. He had to… he had to help… or… or…

The prosthetic unlatched from his stump leg. He held it up with trembling hands, then turned to the bars. He moved it behind one of them and started to pull against the barrier. Maybe he could bend the bars… he could slip through and climb up the stairs… he'd find a way… he always… always did...

He grunted. He strained. More sweat matted his forehead. But it wouldn't work. He was too weak in his sickened state.

He shrunk back against the wall. His moments of exposure had only worsened his health further, so he reattached his prosthetic. Without it, he really wouldn't be able to walk. And he needed to if he was to get out.

But he just couldn't.

He couldn't get up.

He couldn't do it.

With a shuddering sigh, Hiccup curled up in a ball to try to conserve his body heat. He squeezed his eyes shut. If only he could block out this horrible feeling as well.

"T-the go-gods h-hate m-m-me," he murmured.

And that was probably true.

* * *

The Hunters were badly losing.

Even though there were over a hundred of them, they were being beaten by a group of teenagers. Their captain would not be happy… so a few gathered to hatch a plan.

"The dragon boy told Dagur some o' his secrets," one Hunter filled the other two in. "I know it meself. Me cousin was on guard watch durin' the 'terrogation and overheard. He told a couple o' other men."

One of the other two nodded. "I heard the same rumor. What did the boy say?"

"Well, I can't 'member all of them… but I do remember one that may 'elp us."

The third shifted. "What was that?"

"How to get past them dragons without them findin' you. You have tah make as much noise as poss'ble. And that came straight from the mouth o' the Dragon Conqueror, I swear on me life. An' we need to get past them dragons or the cap'n won't be pleased. Did you hear what he did to the last man who failed 'im?" Without waiting for a response, he resumed his rant. "He threw 'im into a pack o' wild dragons to rip 'im apart! No mercy in 'im… 'cept for that sister o' his. But she's back with Ryker. Without 'er… 'e's unstop'ble."

The other two gulped. They didn't want to be torn apart.

"So, let's do it, then," said the second. "It's our last bet."

The Hunters all nodded. It was decided. They would sneak up to the dragons making as much noise as they could and pray to Odin that their plan would function. They were pretty sure it would work. After all, the Dragon Conqueror had said so himself.

The three gathered a bunch of rocks and leaves and advanced towards the battling dragons. They saw a Nadder and a blonde girl slicing through a line of Hunters, a Nightmare and a Gronckle working together to combine their fires' force, and a Zippleback exploding different areas to break the ranks. They even saw a Rumblehorn flying over.

And then the men saw the Night Fury.

The dark-scaled beast was hidden in the trees, but it kept on firing plasma blasts. Hunters scattered in fear, not knowing where it was coming from. But the other three Hunters knew.

"Odin's eyepatch, that's a Night Fury!" one gasped. "We'll never make it past _that_ monster! I heard only the Dragon Conqueror can calm it!"

But before they could run, the first Hunter said, "Wait! The dragon boy also told Dagur how to get past a Fury. And I 'member, now..."

"How?" a comrade asked nervously.

The one with the knowledge leaned in. "Well… it might be a bit embarrasin', but… if it gets us through, it's worth it."

"Spit it out, then!"

The Hunter glanced around, looking grim.

"We're gonna need some flowers."

* * *

Toothless shot a third blast into the mess of battle and war cries. Hunters yelped and darted away as fast as their meaty legs could take them. This was for Hiccup. For his Rider. These fools had taken his friend away… and for that, they would pay the price.

Just as he was about to roar and blast another group of Hunters down, he heard something that made his ears prick up and turn his head.

No… but why would...

There he saw three beefy Hunters clad in vines of pink and yellow flowers. And that wasn't all they were doing.

They were also... _singing_.

" _I'm a scary Viking_

 _Big and beefy_

 _Here is my muscle_

 _Here is my glory_

 _When I get all steamed up_

 _Hear me shout_

 _I'm gonna flip you over_

 _and knock you out!_ "

Toothless was baffled.

No, beyond baffled.

Mystified.

Bewildered.

 _Disturbed._

What were these muttonhead Vikings doing? They were facing down a Night Fury! The most powerful of all dragons. Quick as lightning. Silent as death. And here they were. Covered in blossoms. Singing. Doing some sort of- of _dance_!

The Hunters continued.

" _I'm a strong Viking,_

 _Yes it's true!_

 _Here, let me show you_

 _What I can do_

 _I can flip you over_

 _And erase all doubt_

 _Just get me steamed up and I'll knock you out!"_

What in the name of Odin…?!

Toothless bared his retractable teeth and emerged from the bushes. No one got away with mistreating a Night Fury. He deserved more respect than… than this!

"Is it working?" a Hunter said, in the middle of a pirouette in his dance.

"I dunno," another replied. "Huh... wait, I think so!"

Toothless let out a roar. It was decided. These Hunters were going down.

He opened his mouth, a fatal blast ready. The dragon's fury was suddenly overwhelming. They had taken Hiccup, his best friend. They had sang a silly children's song in expectancy that it would calm him.

And these men thought they could get away with this?

No way.

They should be justified with death. Taking his rider. Dishonoring him.

His jaw opened wider, and wider until-

"TOOTHLESS, _NO_!"

He, disconcerted, accidentally shot the plasma blast into the trees, missing the Hunters. The group yelped and scurried away before the Night Fury could try again.

That Hofferson girl Hiccup liked- Astrid- came up to Toothless. Her brow was creased.

"Toothless!" she yelled over the battle chaos. "We agreed; no killing. Hiccup…" Her voice broke. "Hiccup wouldn't want us to. No matter what."

Toothless gave a low growl.

Astrid slung her axe over her shoulder and swiped her forehead. "I know. I miss him, too… look, I was about to go and try to get past those guards standing by the prison door. Do you want to come with me?"

Toothless nodded once, and Astrid inclined her head back.

"Then let's go," she said.

The pair hurried over to the guarded cellar door. A group of about five or six Hunters stood by, wearing ugly expressions. Astrid knew they wouldn't move, even if Toothless came up.

Astrid hollered as she jumped into their circle, swinging her axe around to fend them off. Toothless helped by knocking them over or scaring them away by his mere look. Still, more joined in. It was two against six. Then two against eight. Twelve. Fifteen. All at once, there were too many for them to both get through.

"Toothless!" Astrid screamed. "I'm- I'm going through to get Hiccup! You stay here and block them! We can't both get past the Hunters!"

Toothless rumbled in a moment of disagreement, then gave a look like, Get out of here, then.

"Thanks!"

Astrid ran through the wall of Hunters, grunting. Her nimble frame passed by mostly unnoticed and she managed to reach the door. Panting, she hefted it open and trampled down the stairs… _I'm coming, Hiccup… hang on… please, please, Hiccup… I'm almost there…_

She reached the bottom of the stairs, but didn't stop. She kept running, whipping her head around the cells.

"Hiccup? Hiccup! Where are you-"

"H-here…," a weak voice said.

Astrid froze and turned around to see the Dragon Rider trying to sit up in a cell.

Her heart stopped.

 _Oh, Hiccup._

Her breath caught in her throat.

 _Hiccup._

For a moment, they said nothing, just stared at each other with faces of disbelief and joy.

 _I've finally found you._

And then Astrid noticed Hiccup's condition. He had a sickly and frail look. Dark bags pulled under his eyes, which usually had a sparkling glint in them. Now, however, that twinkle was nearly gone. In place of it was a hollow and tired effect that made Astrid want to run over and hug him.

Hiccup's slim body was shaking uncontrollably, and Astrid then realized exactly how cold it was down here. In the euphoria of the battle, all senses had been blocked. But, now, however, she felt it like a knife. And she'd only been in here for a few minutes. Hiccup… he had been here for perhaps days…

"Hiccup…"

She stumbled over and leaned against the bars, trying to get as close to him as she could.

Because he was here.

Alive.

Sitting right there in front of her.

She just couldn't… _Hiccup_ … how… _Hiccup_...

Hiccup attempted to stand, and in his newfound relief, he achieved it. He clasped Astrid's hands through the bars, and Astrid winced at how freezing they were. His grip was tight and desperate.

 _Hiccup…_

"A-Astrid…," he chattered.

She bit back tears. She had to be strong. But it was so hard when she saw Hiccup in this state… so vulnerable… so weak… so sick...

"Oh, Hiccup!" she cried. "I've… I've missed you so much…"

His lips- which were tinged blue- quirked into a smile. "M-me t-t-too…"

Their eyes focused on each other. A compassion rippled through them. Astrid could hardly believe it. Was it true…? Was he finally here…?

 _Yes._

 _It is._

 _He's alive._

Astrid swallowed back a sob. "Are- are you okay? No- wait- of course you're not… oh, Hiccup, you look terrible… when I get ahold of Dagur…" She restrained herself from blaring out her rage. Hiccup needed her aid right now. She couldn't think about revenge. Not yet. "Let me get you out of there…"

As much as it pained her, she broke away from his rigid grasp and looked around for the keys. They had to be down here somewhere-

 _There._

She rushed over to the hook on the wall and grabbed the chain of keys off. When she returned to Hiccup, he looked like he was going to faint. She faltered.

"Hang in there, Hiccup," she begged, jamming a key into the lock. It didn't open the door. She tried the next one. Nothing happened.

An sudden explosion shook the room, causing dust to rain on them.

"That must be the others. Or Toothless," said Astrid. "He's fighting hard up there. For you."

"O-oh?" Hiccup slurred, then began to cough into his fist. He tried to hide it at first, but Astrid knew that captivity had not been kind to him when he nearly fell over from the strain. The other Rider grabbed his arm in time.

"You're not getting away from me that easily, dragon boy," she said.

Hiccup nodded, though he looked like he was trying not to throw up.

Astrid made a last shot at the final key. A satisfying click was heard.

 _Oh, thank the gods…_

Hiccup stumbled away from the door so he wouldn't be hit as Astrid pushed the bars open. So she could get in. So she could finally- _finally_ \- be with Hiccup.

As soon as the way in was available to her, Astrid clambered inside. She immediately grabbed Hiccup and hugged him tight. Tears pricked her eyes, and she gave a small gasp.

"Hiccup… I thought… I thought…"

She pulled away from him so she could see his face. His familiar and so delightful-to-see face. She hadn't realized just how much she had missed him during this time.

"As-Astrid, I-I'm… r-right… h-here," Hiccup muttered, trying to keep himself standing without Astrid's help. "D-d-don't... w-worry… I..."

Suddenly, his countenance froze, and his body stiffened.

Deep inside of her, she knew that something was very wrong. She felt the blood drain from her face.

 _Oh, no._

"Hiccup?!" she breathed, her heart palpitating.

For a moment, he said nothing.

And then his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed to the ground.

* * *

 **Worst cliffhanger yet?**

 **Probably.**

 **Is it going to happen again?**

 **Most likely.**

 **Prepare yourselves, my readers.**

 **Well, anyways, THANK YOU THANK YOU so much for all of your kind reviews, likes, and follows! You'll never know how much I appreciate them.**

 **By the way, we are almost at 3,000 views! That is AMAZING! WOO-HOO! Also... only two more chapters, then EOS (that's what I call this story) is done. *sniffs* WHY?**

 **Well, THANK YOU guys for reading! It has been a pleasure.**

 **The next chapter might not be up for a few days. I've got final exams and tests and pre-tests... agh. But I decided to give you guys one last, long chapter with a cliffhanger that will make you want to throttle me. Hey, it's just WHAT I LIKE TAH DO.**

 **Until Chapter 14! There'll be a lot of Fatherly!Stoick, Hiccstrid, Hicctooth... yep. All that good stuff.**

 **Bye!**


	14. Chapter 14

**I'M DONE.**

 **DONE.**

 **DONE.**

 **DONE.**

 **Done with school. Done with exams. FREE! I'm FREE! YESSSSSSSSS! *happy dance***

 **So, throughout the month of May, I'll be able to write a LOT more than I usually do! And I've got BIG plans! *rubs hands together* Oooh, yes!**

 **Sorry I didn't update yesterday! It was my last day of testing, so I decided to celebrate by writing the saddest story on the planet. 'The Last Flight.' Enough said. A few people who have read it (okay, a LOT of people) have cried while reading it. If you're in a mood to lament, then check it out!**

 **Aaaaannnndddddd I decided that I'm going to add another chapter to this story. I have a tendency to drag things out, and I had to visibly restrain myself from making this any longer. The NEXT chapter will be the Hicctooth. I'm so sorry to those who have been expecting it in this chapter. I really just didn't have the time to add it in.**

 **And nowwwww... SHOUTOUTS to you patient people! Sorry not sorry for that last cliffhanger.**

 **SunshineGirl07 : Yep, I just left you like that! CLIFFHANGER! GET DOWN! Haha, sorry. I just HAD to do it!**

 **FanWriter02 : That. Just. Happened. HICCUP! WHY'D YOU HAVE TO COLLAPSE! GET UP! NOW! Yes, they really are! Everywhere you look, there's a cliffhanger! Aw, thank you! That means a lot! I love writing dramatically- a few people have said I write 'poetically.' *shrugs* Maybe I do. YEEESSS! Hiccstrid forever!**

 **Guest : Haha, yes, I CAN leave you guys hanging like that! Sorry for delaying. Exams are... agh. No comment. Thank you! Yes, Hiccup certainly has a talent for bewildering people. It's so fun to write. Thanks!**

 **thepurplewriter333 : HAHAHA! Yep! Those Hunters are pretty dense. Really? FAVORITE chapter? THANK YOU! Boo-ya! Hiccup!whump. Yes! Hiccup-from-first-movie you need to speak more cautiously! Yep! *waves back***

 **Flopy : Thanks! I was laughing so hard while writing the song. Hicctooth will be next chapter! I promise! Also, my new story, 'The Last Flight,' if full of it, if you would like to read it. Beware, though: YOU WILL CRY IF THERE IS SAD MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND or ANYTHING by John Powell. Thank you!**

 **phieillydinyia : HICCSTRID RULES! And, Gobber... WHY'D YOU HAVE TO SAY THAT? Sorry for that last cliffhanger!**

 **Fantasygirl1329 : Oooohhhh, boy, yes, that last one was probably the worst cliffie. SunshineGirl07, thanks for sharing this story, by the way! Yep. Exams can take forever to get through, but I'm DOOOONNNNEEEEE. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **And now, the awaited chapter... CHAPTER 14!**

* * *

 **Chapter 14:**

Astrid screamed.

Over the years, she had seen so much.

She had watched for most of her life as the fiercest warriors were killed.

She had gazed upon terrified faces. Abandoned of hope. Hollow.

When she was fifteen, Astrid had seen Toothless laid out on an ashen ground. His saddle empty. Realizing what that mean.

But this…

 _This_ was the worst.

One of her best friends had simply _crumpled_ to the floor. And now… the great Astrid Hofferson was afraid.

" _Hiccup_!"

She fell to her feet and shook his shoulders, expecting for some response, but earning none.

"Oh gods- oh gods-

" _Hiccup_!"

The other Rider still did not answer, alarming Astrid further.

As her fingers clutched his arms, she realized how cold he was to touch. The way his fingernails shriveled into blue. This wasn't normal. Hiccup wasn't well.

 _What was wrong with him?_

With shaking hands, Astrid pulled Hiccup up. He was fully unconscious, and barely protested the movement. The boy was heavier than Astrid had imagined, but she was strong enough to let him collapse on her shoulder and drag them both out of the cell. She needed help, she knew. _Hiccup_ needed help.

From above, the fighting had seemingly stopped. There were only a few sounds, mostly yelling or the occasional dragon roar. Astrid wondered if the battle had ended… had her team won?

A single tear leaked from her eye as she made her way towards the exit. _Hiccup… oh… please,_ please _, be alright, Hiccup… I can't imagine what I'd do if you… if you…_

Grunting, she pulled them both up the steps. No matter what the outcome of the battle was, Hiccup would get help. If she had to scream, threaten, lie, _maim_ , she would. Because she would _not_ let Hiccup die. No. That was out of the question. He'd get help, one way or another.

Astrid reached the top of the stairs panting, not only from the extra weight, but the fear that bloomed inside of her.

 _Hiccup._

She lifted a hand and opened the prison door from below. It creaked open, letting snow spill into her face. She shivered. She had forgotten about that… and Hiccup had been down here, hardly any warmth, for at least a few days… in the dark… cold… alone...

Before she could get lost in her grief, she hefted her and Hiccup up and through the door. Strangely, there were no guards standing by. Had Toothless managed to fight them all off? Whatever had happened, Astrid was relieved. She climbed out of the prison first, balancing her friend awkwardly for a precarious moment, then lifted Hiccup out. Her heart pounded with fear as she looked down upon Hiccup's still face.

"Astrid!"

The voice was stern and authoritative. One that Astrid could recognize any day.

 _The chief._

 _Oh, gods._

Stoick marched over to the pair, not yet noticing Hiccup.

"Where have you been? We were nearly defeated! Your Nadder didn't know what had happened, either, and we feared the worst! What could possibly be more important than-"

He looked down.

"Wha…"

He saw Hiccup.

"No…

"- _no_!"

Stoick crumpled to his knees in front of his son. The air was heavy with silent mourning. Astrid couldn't bare to watch the great chief Stoick the Vast as his eyes filled with unadulterated horror. As his mouth hung open. As the snow continued to fall.

" _Hiccup_."

Astrid shivered. "Chief… he's… he's alive."

Stoick's head snapped up, and Astrid winced when she found his eyes unfocused in grief. "Alive… alive… my son… he's… he's alive!" He leaned forward and pulled Hiccup into his arms. Hiccup had grown a lot in the past few years, but he still could fit into Stoick's lap. Because he would always be Stoick's son. Always.

The chief choked on his words. "Hiccup… oh, _son_ …"

Astrid was having a similar problem herself, but she stood and looked around. Hunters were lined against rows of tents, the Riders and their dragons guarding them carefully. Everyone was watching them, though, however little they knew of the situation. Astrid saw Fishlegs catch a glimpse of Hiccup slack in Stoick's grip and let out a pained gasp. But he didn't abandon his post. Not yet.

"I presume we won," Astrid said, breaking through the chilly air.

"Yes," said Stoick. His voice cracked at the end. With a heaving sigh, he climbed to his feet, holding a limp Hiccup in his arms. "This… it was all Dagur. He's waiting inside of his cabin now, the twins guarding him… thinking of that, we should probably go there before they do something stupid. And I… Dagur will _pay_ for what he's done to my boy…" His voice was shaking with barely contained rage. Astrid agreed with the chief. Dagur would face the punishment of all of them for hurting their friend.

Astrid and Stoick hiked through the thickening snow. Stoick knew where Dagur's cabin was, so he led the way, holding Hiccup close to himself. His son was shaking in the frigid weather. He needed warmth. Dagur keeping him down there in a freezing cold cell… Astrid's fists clenched. It was inhumane.

"Here we are," said Stoick. Astrid stopped and looked up from the ground. Dagur's cabin wasn't anything impressive- the Hunters, after all, had only had a few days to set it up. But it looked like the warmest thing for miles around, so that was where they'd put Hiccup.

Astrid opened the door for Stoick to come inside. There was an uncomfortable moment where he couldn't quite fit his large frame through the entrance, but he eventually made it in, face flushed.

There was a simple table in the middle of the room, along with a cot pressed to the far side. That was really it. Dagur and the twins sat at the table, talking. Astrid caught a bit of their conversation.

"-one is a better mayhem-maker than _us_ ," bragged Tuff.

"No one!" Ruff agreed.

Dagur's eyebrow quirked up, smelling a challenge. "Oh? Well, when I was _seven_ , I blew up my house." He seemed contempt, like he had just beaten them at a difficult game.

Tuff rolled his eyes. "Puh- _lease_. We've done it six times already- starting at five years old. What _else_ have you done?"

Dagur opened his mouth, but Stoick interrupted with a low growl.

" _We found Hiccup._ "

The Berserker's eyes cut from the twins to the chief. Dagur was rarely nervous, but the sight of a bitter father and a girl who _really_ wield an axe made him gulp.

Stoick gently set Hiccup onto the cot, then turned back to face Dagur. His face was taut with a murderous glower that he saved for only his enemies. Then Berkian stepped forward, making the other man flinch from his chair.

"You," spat Stoick, "are going to _pay._ "

Suddenly, Astrid realized what he meant. Stoick didn't mean a lifetime in prison, or a punch or two. No. He was going to do something far worse.

He was going to kill Dagur.

"No!" Astrid gasped, stumbling over from Hiccup's side. "Chief- you can't- we agreed, no kill-"

" _He- hurt- my- son_!" Stoick roared, pressing forward, but Astrid attempted to stop him. " _Hiccup is injured! Sick! He might_ die! _Because of this pathetic excuse of a Viking, too cowardly to-_ "

"Oh my Thor!"

That came from the doorway. Everyone swiveled around to see Fishlegs and Snotlout standing there. Fishlegs' mouth dropped in an, ' _o_ ', and Snotlout's eyes were wide with attentiveness.

Astrid took this moment of distraction to try and plead with Stoick.

"Chief… trust me, you _don't_ want to do this. Someday… you're going to look back… and you will regret it _so much_ … so, please… _please_ don't do this… think… think of Hiccup. _When_ he wakes up, will the first thing he wants to hear be that you- that you _murdered_ someone!"

Stoick's eyes were still staring angrily at Dagur, but he didn't move. Astrid was a little relieved. She was convincing him.

"Look," she continued. "I have a better plan. How about we give Dagur an example of exactly what Hiccup experienced? So he can… get a taste of what it was like for Hiccup. A night in prison. No blankets. No food. No water. Nothing except darkness. We'll see if he's so brutal to others next time."

Stoick seemed to like this, and shifted. "Yes," he said, then glanced at Ruff and Tuff. "You two."

"Us?" said Tuff. He turned his head around, looking around as if he thought the chief wanted someone else.

"Yes, you! Go and take this scum to the prison cells. If you can't find them, I'm sure some Hunters would be _more_ than happy to show you. And _make sure_ that they don't _free him_." Since even the twins knew not to disobey the chief, they grabbed a protesting Dagur and yanked him outside. Though Dagur could easily fight off the two, he decided he didn't want to face the wrath of Stoick the Vast. No- the condemnation of a worried father.

Fishlegs and Snotlout came further indoors.

"We've put the Hunters on a sort of house arrest," Fishlegs told them. "The dragons are guarding them… Toothless, very reluctantly, of course. He wanted to find Hiccup. Anyways, the Hunters know not to mess with them. They aren't _that_ stupid."

Astrid smirked, thinking of all the times they actually _were_ that dense, but decided it wouldn't upset her if a few of them were snapped at. "Thanks, Fishlegs." Her smile fell as she crossed the room to stand next to Hiccup. Stoick was already there, watching over his son with a distraught expression.

"Who's that?" said Snotlout, blissfully unaware of the silhouette on the bed.

Astrid didn't meet his eyes, and Fishlegs covered his mouth. He had, after all, seen Hiccup before.

Snotlout gaped. He now understood. "You mean… that's… oh, gods…" He seemed stunned. "Hiccup. But… he… he's always alright… he never… oh, gods…"

Fishlegs was murmuring a litany of, "- _oh Thor oh Thor oh Thor_ -"

"So, what's the plan?" asked Astrid. "We need one, if Hiccup… if he…"

Stoick straightened. "We can camp out here through the night. But, at first light, we'll set off back to Berk where the healers can help my boy."

Fishlegs shifted. "What about all the Hunters? And Dagur?"

"We'll strand them here. No supplies. No boat. See how well they can figure out how to survive," Stoick growled. "They won't be able to leave for a _long_ , long time."

The Riders all nodded in agreement.

Astrid looked over Hiccup, her throat choked up. He seemed so… _breakable_. But, she knew that he was stronger than most people would think. People often forgot that he had worked years in a forge…

But seeing Hiccup that still… his body fragile and shivering… looking almost _blue_ … it stung her hard. She reached over to the side and pulled a blanket over him, earning an incoherent murmur. She smiled. Even in unconsciousness, Hiccup was thanking her. Thanking her for one simple, yet comforting gesture. From that- Astrid was sure, in her heart-, she knew that Hiccup would be alright in the end.

* * *

"W-w-what are y-you l-looking a-at?" Dagur shrieked at the Hunters. He sneezed. "I-I-I'm p-perfectly n-normal! _Yo-you're_ the o-ones w-wh-who look w-weird! G-go a-a-away. ACHOO!"

Dagur had just been retrieved from the cells by the Riders. He had acquired a nasty cold during his prison sentence, now looking stuffed up and quite pale. The Hunters regarded him with wide, almost frightened eyes. He looked like the walking dead.

It was morning now at the Hunters' camp, and the Riders and Stoick had come up with a plan. The dragons would carry the Hunters' nearly-finished boat back to Berk. That way, Toothless would be up in the air with them without anyone having to leave their own dragon to fly him. Hiccup would be inside one of the cabins- a warmer place than being propped up outside in the cold. Toothless would be entrusted to watch over his rider.

The ship was all hooked up to the dragons now. Stoick was just finishing tying up Dagur to a tree outside. The warrior could figure his own way out of his bonds. _Without_ the Hunters' help.

"Look, S-S-Stoick!" Dagur tried, squirming in his bonds. "C-can't we t-t-talk a-about t-this? I n-never _m-meant_ for y-young H-Hiccup to n-nearly _d-die_! T-this is a-all a m-misunderstanding."

Stoick glared and started to walk away. "I'd quiet up if I were you, Berserker."

But Dagur continued. "H-Hiccup i-is m-m-my l-little brother! Wh-who says t-that if I t-tried t-to kill h-him a c-couple o-of times m-means I w-want him d-dead?"

Stoick whipped around.

He had had enough.

He knew that his son wanted to fight his own battles. He only asked for help in the most dire of circumstances, and Stoick respected that. But Hiccup wasn't here right now. And Stoick… he felt entitled to inflict just a little of the pain his boy was experiencing now.

So, he stalked up to Dagur and stared him straight in the eye.

Dagur flinched back, knowing that something bad was going to happen.

And he was right. The chief suddenly reeled back his fist, then let it go loose, hitting Dagur right in the mouth.

"OWWWW!" Dagur screamed, writhing in attempt to touch his jaw. "'Ou kno'ked 'ot a t-toof!"

Once again, Dagur was correct. A pearly white of his lay in the snow, slightly covered in blood. Stoick cracked his knuckles. Boy, _that_ felt good. Satisfied, he marched away to the dragons, then boarded Skullcrusher. Everyone was set. Now, all they had to do was fly to Berk… and pray that Hiccup would make it there.

"Is everyone ready?" Stoick called one last time.

"Yes!" the Riders answered.

Stoick leaned forward into Skullcrusher's saddle as the dragons all took off. It was a little hard to fly with the ship's extra weight, but they would get through it. They had to. For Hiccup.

* * *

"We're here!" Fishlegs exclaimed. The island of Berk was nearing fast. It had taking a long time to get there, but they had done it. And Hiccup was still alive, which Stoick breathed praises to the gods for.

The group soon landed in the center of the village. The Vikings who weren't safely tucked away in their homes looked up in surprise, then cheered. Their chief was back! But Stoick did not express the same joy, not even sparing a smile. This was a grim time, and Stoick believed that it did not deserve any happiness.

Stoick quickly climbed inside of the ship. He had been anxious to see Hiccup, but didn't want to stop the whole formation and delay a possible treatment for his son.

He found Toothless at his rider's side, watching over him and whining softly in concern. Stoick had only seen him this worried when Hiccup had nearly been killed by the Red Death.

"How is he? Oh, never mind, you can't answer, dragon," said Stoick, rushing up and feeling Hiccup's forehead. It was clammy, but warm with a temperature.

Toothless didn't move away for Stoick. If anything, he sidled closer to Hiccup. He would _never_ leave the boy. Not for anything in the world.

"His fever's a bit worse," Stoick announced with worry. "Gothi has to see him. And fast." He leaned down and picked up his son like he weighed little more than a feather. Toothless had wanted to carry him, but relented the privilege to the chief. He could tell that the man cared deeply for the Rider and knew that he would take good care of his rider. Still, he was a bit jealous and stalked only a little ways away from Stoick.

They exited the ship in a somber mood. Astrid was waiting nervously outside, and her face fell when she saw that Hiccup was still out cold. It made Stoick's heart wrench and wish that he had punched Dagur just one more time. That man had caused so much pain- not only to Hiccup, but his loved ones as well.

After untying the boat from the dragons, most of the group headed to the Haddock house. Snotlout and Fishlegs were sent to Gothi's to retrieve her. Meanwhile, the others brought Hiccup upstairs to his room. Stoick fought off a sense of _deja vu_ as he set Hiccup on the bed. Like after the Red Death. Like when Hiccup was struck by lightning. Two times, already… would Hiccup survive a third?

A few minutes later, the boys arrived with Gothi. As always, she was in a no-nonsense mood, pushing past the Riders to examine her patient. She managed to get Hiccup to cough a few times, startling them all into thinking that Hiccup was awake.

After that, she rolled up Hiccup's pant legs to see if anything else was wrong. Everyone gasped. His good foot was swollen and tinged an angry red. The ankle was definitely twisted, if not broken. Stoick fought back barely suppressed rage. What had happened while his son was in captivity?

Astrid, though, felt her heart flutter. She had been with Hiccup right before he had- had passed out. He hadn't mentioned that his foot was hurting. Nor that he was freezing, or that his cough felt like something worse than a cold. _Gods, Hiccup… you're too prideful to admit you're not feeling well, sometimes._ No. Not prideful. _Selfless_. He didn't want her to worry.

When Gothi was done, she gestured for Stoick to come with her outside so she could tell him what his son had contracted. He reluctantly left Hiccup with the Riders, not wanting to leave. They were soon out in the snow. Stoick barely felt the cold. He was too worried about his boy.

Gothi slid her staff around in the piling flakes. _Your son has caught a sickness by staying out in bad weather too long. It is something dangerous that is not usually seen here._

Stoick swallowed, not sure if he wanted to know, but... "What does my boy have?"

Gothi made a series of squiggles.

 _Pneumonia._

Stoick's blood chilled. _Pneumonia_. He had heard that word a mere two times before. It was only whispered in the darkest corners. On the loneliest nights. _Pneumonia._ The coughing sickness that took even the strongest of Vikings' lives. _Pneumonia._

Hiccup, his beloved son, had pneumonia.

"What- what can we do to treat it?" he asked, faltering.

 _Keep him warm and out of the cold. When he wakes, make sure he drinks plenty of fluids. Do not worry about his cough- it is his body trying to fight the sickness. Even if he isn't hungry, he must eat to keep up his strength, or I fear the worst will happen. However, your boy is young and strong. He should make it through._

Stoick breathed out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Hiccup would be alright.

 _His son would be alright!_

Soon, Hiccup'd be up and complaining about all the fussing, then going on about how he needed to fly that dragon of his- Toothless. He'd smile and laugh his friends' worry away. " _I'm fine! Stop worrying, guys._ "

But Gothi wasn't done yet.

 _Chief, pneumonia is a tricky thing. It works in different ways each time. Though the boy should survive, it is not completely certain. Be wary, Stoick. Even when the boy seems to be fine._

The Berkian nodded. "Yes, of course… even though my son is called a man now, I never do stop worrying about him. Though, I suppose it _is_ a father's job to worry."

Gothi lifted her head to look at him, then gave an incline of her head. She wrote a farewell in the snow, then walked off back to her house.

Stoick tried to shake off his shock at the news, but it was a futile attempt. So he fought the alarm with, _Hiccup is strong. He's stubborn. Tough. He will get through this. Like always._

Hiccup would live. He _would._

And as Stoick stepped indoors, he smiled.

Because deep down inside… he believed. Believed in hope. Believed in miracles.

Believed in his son.

* * *

 ***wipes tear away* Go, Fatherly!Stoick, go!**

 **Thanks so much, everybody, for reading, reviewing, favoriting, or following! Each one of your feedback stirs me to update quicker. Thanks, guys, for staying with me even through those brutally hard cliffhangers. I gave you a break on this one, though, so YAY!**

 **Two more chapters.**

 **Let's do this.**

 **Until the next chapter! See ya!**


	15. Chapter 15

**SO SO SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING. This chapter did NOT want to be written... by the way, most of this chapter will just be feels and sadness, because that's what my writer's block wanted written. *shrugs* Sorry!**

 **And noooooowwwwwwww... SHOUT-OUTS!**

 **FanWriter02: Thanks, Kat! I do? So... I AM A POET? Hmm... maybe... Aw, thank you! I always felt like that made my writing bad and complicated... why do I write like that? THANKS!**

 **katurdi: GAH I KNOW. Yes! My poor little Hiccup has pneumonia. *sniffs* I had it when I was little, and it isn't any fun. WHY'D I DO THAT TO HIM? Yes, poor you... hit you in the feels again! Aha! Yep. The last cliffie... phew. That was bad. But I just wanted to do that ONCE. There won't really be a cliffie as bad as that one, as there's only one more chapter after this one. THANK YOU! :D**

 **Guest #1: Thanks! Aw, sorry... that's my fatal writing flaw. I just go on... and on... and ON... stupid brain. :-)**

 **Guest #2: Well, think about it: Dagur spent a night in a FREEZING cold jail cell (and if you've ever been camping in January, that is TORTURE), Stoick the Vast, a probably 500-pound man, PUNCHED him right in the mouth (Ooh!), and then he was stranded on an island. Tied up. No supplies. With only the Dragon Hunters as company... and after the way he treated them, they probably won't show a lot of mercy. And, also, Hiccup was in a critical condition. The Riders and Stoick had to hurry back before he... well... kicked the bucket, so they didn't have much time to think of a suitable punishment. Thanks anyways!**

 **Fantasygirl1329: Pneumonia. Yes. Oh joy. Hiccup must be so happy... YES! NO SCHO-OL! NO SCHO-OL! It still hasn't hit me yet, though... every day just feels like Saturday or something. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **thepurplewriter333: AGH ME TOO THE FEELSSSSSS. Thanks! Yes! Da whump is... BEAUTIFUL. Yeah! Go Stoick! Bad Dagur! Ooh! Somehow, I know you have a pretty strong arm... hit Dagur again for me, will ya? Sure! I felt guilty after leaving you guys like that before. *looks down sheepishly* Yes... _hope_... strange... I only put that in there because I felt like I was overdosing the sadness, what with writing The Last Flight, making Hiccup pass out, and all. *smiles weakly***

 **Hiccstridlover13: OF COURSE I WILL! I LOOOOVEEE father/son bonding! YES! *fist bump* Mission is complete! Me too!**

 **phieillydinyia: Nah, it's okay! I saved you a seat! :D YAAAASSSS. THE FEELS ARE STRONG. I'm glad! Well... I GUESS YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE. :-)**

 **flopy: Oh? You're one of the first! The other people who have read The Last Flight have either a) sobbed, b) screamed, or c) called me evil... heheh... Sure! Lots of Hictooth in here, so don't worry. YES! I'm happy you liked it! :D**

 **Enjoy Chapter 15, however sad it may be... (THE FEELS! *fans self*)**

* * *

 **Chapter 15:**

Toothless would not leave.

No matter what the people did, threatened, or begged, he wouldn't abandon Hiccup's side. Because he had almost lost him, and he didn't want to feel that feeling ever again. So he would make _sure_ it never happened another time. And the only way to ensure that was to stay close to his rider. He would allow a few people to come up and tend to Hiccup, but he didn't budge if they tried to move him. This was _his_ spot. _Go find another one._ And the humans eventually did.

The large man, Stoick, was overly worried for his son. He kept on dropping things, panicking at the smallest change of breath in Hiccup, and most of all sitting next to the Rider and clasping his boy's shivering hand.

Those Riders often came by, as well. Especially Astrid. Toothless knew that she was tough for a human, and hated to see her this distressed. To top off the miserable mood, Stoick wouldn't let anyone in to see Hiccup yet. He only allowed Toothless and himself have access to his son, exasperating about everybody.

For the rest of the day after Gothi left, the atmosphere was grim. What was supposed to be a happy time of year turned dark and depressing. If someone brought up the nearing holiday of Snoggletog, Stoick would shoot them a glare that made them shrink back and leave. No one was supposed to be happy. Not when the chief's son was in this state.

Hiccup slept on throughout the morning and afternoon. Gothi had also told them that the boy might sleep for awhile, as his body needed time to recover from captivity. Though it eased the worry a little, people still couldn't help but fret over Hiccup's well-being.

Later that evening, the Riders were finally permitted to see Hiccup and say something meaningful, if they wished. Their friend was in a fairly stable condition now that he was warm, though his shivering hadn't gone down the entire way. Toothless still wouldn't leave his rider, instead curling up on his own slab of a bed where he could keep a close watch.

Astrid was the first one in. She immediately stumbled over to Hiccup and grasped his hand. He was quaking slightly, and cold to the touch, despite Stoick's best efforts.

"Hey, Hiccup," said Astrid, squeezing the boy's hand. "I… I just want you to know that when you wake up, I'll- I'll be right here for you. Always."

Hiccup did not stir, causing Astrid to swallow thickly.

"I miss you," she confessed after a moment. "The last time I saw you awake… Hiccup… I never want to see you like- like that again. I… I _won't_ see you like that again." She nodded to herself, knowing that she'd do everything in her power to keep Hiccup from falling into this state once more. "And, Hiccup…"

Before she could think about it, she leaned down and kissed his forehead. The motion was quick and jerky, but compassionate, nonetheless. She looked around as if anticipating someone to confront her about it, but Toothless only gave a slight grunt in response.

Astrid tucked a loose lock of her hair back. She patted Hiccup's slack hands, wishing they would grip hers back. She knew she should probably go now so the other Riders could have a turn with their leader. "I'll… see you soon, dragon boy…" A minute later, she was gone.

Snotlout was next. He took off his helmet in respect to the unconscious boy, then stood by the bed awkwardly.

For a minute drummed his fingers against his helmet, not knowing exactly what to tell Hiccup. He finally mustered, "Hey, cuz… you, uh, really gave us a scare there." A beat. "Hope you're feeling okay."

His cousin didn't wake.

"Well, Hiccup… I hope you get better soon."

He winced. He knew he should say more than _that_.

"No… Hiccup… I…. well, thanks. Hookfang and I really owe you for confusing those Hunters with your tricks. You made it a lot easier to blast them. Not that we couldn't have done that _before_ you fooled them," he added quickly, though no one had challenged his claim. "But… thanks. Wake up soon, alright?"

With a half-smile, he put his helmet back on, then left.

Fishlegs waddled in after. His brow was knit in concern for his friend.

"Oh, Thor," he muttered, coming closer to the bed. The sight of his friend lying unconscious in bed made him grimace. "Hiccup…"

The bedridden Rider let out an involuntary cough in his sleep, surprising Fishlegs.

"Hiccup! You're finally aw- gods… no, that's wrong… Gothi told us you might cough in your sleep," said Fishlegs, his hopeful expression crumbling. "I… well, I hope you wake up soon, Hiccup. We're all missing you. Es… especially Toothless." He cast a sideways glance at the Night Fury, who was sitting nearby on his bed.

"You're one of my best friends, Hiccup," Fishlegs said quietly. "The only one I can 'geek out' with. No- not only that… you respect each one of us, no matter what we do, or what our mistakes are. You even forgive the twins for their stunts. Well… _eventually._ But, Hiccup- that's something the rest of us struggle to do every day. So, thanks, Hiccup. May the gods give you good fortune and heal you."

Sadly, he departed the room. Ruff shuffled in and took his place.

"Hey, Hiccup," she greeted. "How ya doing?" She nodded, uncomfortable to be in the presence of someone out cold. "Good… good…" She sighed. "No, you're probably not doing well at all. Look, Hiccup… I know me and Tuff mess around, and stuff, but we're just trying to lighten the mood. Sorry if we make fun of you, or ruin a project… sometimes, you guys can be so serious. Tuff and I… we like funny things. So- sorry if that bothers you." Ruff shifted. "Get better soon, okay?"

She grinned slightly, gave a little sigh, then gave the room to her awaiting brother.

Tuff hurried over to Hiccup's side, excited. "Hiccup! Hey, how ya been?" Without waiting even a second, he continued, "Well, enough about you… let's talk about _my_ generosity!"

Toothless growled at Tuff, wondering what in Odin's name Tuff meant.

Tuff merely waved a hand in response. "Woah, woah- chill out, T. I haven't even gotten to the good part yet. See, I got Hiccup a present." He then dug around the pockets of his vest before his eyes lit up and he came out with something in his hands.

Toothless jumped to his feet, thinking (and with good reason) that Tuff had something dangerous with him. The Night Fury snapped at the boy from a distance, his worry over his rider's well-being controlling all other senses.

"T! Hey, hey- look!" Tuff quickly held up his gift. It was piece of paper. No- not just a piece of paper. It was a drawing.

A drawing of all the Riders.

Toothless froze, his anger disapparating into confusion. Of all the Riders… _Tuff_ had been the one to do this...

Tuff shrugged uncomfortably. "I asked that guy Bucket to do it. Thought it would, you know, comfort Hiccup." He set the drawing on the desk near Hiccup's bedside.

"Enjoy," said Tuff, then swaggered out of the room.

Toothless watched him go with wide eyes, then turned back to his rider. He was reminded of the battle of the Red Death. Watching Hiccup sleep for days, day into night, night into day. Hiccup had been asleep nearly two weeks. Toothless had to wonder if the same events would unfold. Would Hiccup be unconscious for _that long?_

Whimpering, he crawled over to Hiccup side. He stood up on his hind legs to watch over the Rider. Hiccup continued to sleep, breathing in and out, his breaths a little uneven at times. Toothless whined. He picked up his paw and poked at Hiccup's chest, like, _Wake up!_

Right after, flinched back, expecting Hiccup to sit up and yell at him. But Hiccup was still out cold.

Toothless leaned forward again, curious of how to get his rider awake and flying him again. He tried his method again, but this time, he didn't jump back.

There was no response.

With a heaving sigh, Toothless dropped back to his four legs. He then jumped up to Hiccup's bed and curled up at the end of it, facing the door. He would guard his rider from any harm that might be thrown at him.

And Toothless wouldn't let anyone take him away.

He wouldn't.

* * *

Stoick came back in a few minutes later. He took his usual spot in the chair near his son. He glanced at Toothless, who remained on the bed, but didn't force him to get down. He understood the bond between the dragon and Hiccup, and knew that separating the two would only bring more pain.

"The… the dragons are leaving again," said Stoick. He hated to bring even more bad news in, but it was necessary. "To the Berkery. Of course they go _now_ … Well, a couple of the Riders plan to leave in a few days to bring them back, along with their hatchlings." He sighed, then stood. "Well, I'll leave you to get some peace and quiet… I… I love you son. So much." He stroked Hiccup's sweaty hair back with a fond expression, then slowly left the room.

There was a sudden pant.

It came from Hiccup.

Toothless turned his head to look at the Rider. His breathing had… changed. It wasn't as deep as before, like a sleeping person's would sound. More rapid… even… could it be…?

"To...th...ss."

The Night Fury jumped. _No… it can't be true… Hiccup..._

Hiccup's eyes fluttered for moment. His lips moved again.

"Thhhh...sss."

Toothless cooed happily, then began to crawl towards Hiccup, too excited to notice he was stepping all over his rider.

"Ouch!" Hiccup muttered, reacting to the Night Fury's weight that was being pressed on him. "Tooth...le…"

Toothless crooned, ignoring the boy's protests. He began licking Hiccup's face energetically, causing Hiccup to groan. "Sto… ow… hurts… To...le...ss...!"

Toothless realized that he was causing Hiccup pain, not comfort, and backed off. He leapt from the bed, then stood beside it, tongue lolling with alacrity.

Hiccup's eyes were falling back down again. Toothless whined with alarm. He couldn't go back to sleep! He had just woken up!

Suddenly, the door was flung open. A giant of a man stood in the frame, panting. Stoick.

"What is it, dragon?" he asked, coming closer. "Is it Hiccup? Is- is he worse?"

He pivoted to look at his son, and was beyond surprised to see the boy's eyelids cracked open.

"Hiccup…?"

"D...da…d..."

"Hiccup!"

Stoick swept over him, grinning with relief. "My son! You're awake! How do you feel? Oh, I'm so _happy_ , Hiccup! Does anything hurt? Do- do you need some water? Maybe another blanket? I can get you one if you'd like. Or perhaps a washcloth for your forehead, you look hot-"

Hiccup's eyes had closed during Stoick's ramble. His breaths were deep once again. He was asleep.

"Oh... oh," said Stoick, realizing the newfound fact. "Alright. Sleep… you must be tired. Well... you rest, son. You've been through a great ordeal. Your body needs time to heal."

He patted Hiccup's chest, then once again left the room. It was bittersweet. His son had woken, though for hardly a couple of minutes.

But, still...

It was something.

* * *

The Riders were overjoyed to hear that Hiccup had roused, if only for a few a few seconds. They wanted to see him again, but Stoick disapproved. Hiccup needed rest, and he couldn't get that with a bunch of teenagers shouting in his ear. Though upset, they agreed, and let him sleep. The night passed with no other signs of stirring. Toothless remained in Hiccup's bed. Stoick practically slept in the chair beside Hiccup, hoping he could be there the next time Hiccup awakened.

Morning came. The people prayed to the gods to help Hiccup through his battle. Stoick refused to leave the room, as did Toothless. The Riders were allowed brief visitation from time to time. Berkians came in and dropped off gifts for the chief's son. Soon, Hiccup's desks were overflowing with trinkets and boxes addressed to him.

Another day passed. And then, yet another. The bestowal pile grew. Night came once again, and Stoick was glad. The day had seemed to last forever as he waited by Hiccup's bedside, only getting up for the necessities like eating and a few chiefly matters he couldn't ignore. But Stoick would always return to his boy.

"Look at it all, Hiccup," Stoick would mutter through the night, referring to the presents decorating his room. Hiccup was fighting a feverish nightmare. He clasped his son's hands, rubbing them to provide some consolation. "Look at all of these gifts... they're just _waiting_ to be opened. By you. Come on, son... _open_ your eyes… show me those green beauties..."

Hiccup slept on.

The Riders were now gathered at Hiccup's side. It was nearing a late hour in the night, and they would soon depart back home. Fishlegs and the twins were heading off tomorrow to aid the dragons with their journey back to Berk. They would camp out there a couple of nights while the dragons prepared their offspring for the flight back. Everyone on Berk wanted their dragons back to comfort them in this dark time, so a few of the Riders were chosen to carry out the job.

Fishlegs yawned. "I think... I think I should get back. Lots to do tomorrow... need rest..."

He bid his goodbyes, then left. Ruff and Tuff followed shortly after, not wanting to be exhausted with all the work they were soon to be doing. Fifteen minutes later, Snotlout went home. Only Astrid and Stoick were left.

Stoick sat forward in his chair, his eyes distant and thunderous.

"I've been thinking."

His voice cracked with misuse, and made Astrid flinch. She had been used to the solemn silence they stood in while watching Hiccup..

"About what, Chief?" she questioned. She glanced at Hiccup, wondering if Stoick was going to say something about her friend.

"About... about the hurricane," he replied, his voice icier than the weather outside. "Why did it have to come? Why did it have to make Hiccup believe that I was in danger, so that all of- all of _this_ -" -he gestured to his son's limp body- "-happened?" His meaty fists clenched in a sudden spur of anger. Days of frustratian had piled up inside of him. He was ready to explode.

" _This is all that_ foul _storm's fault_!"

Astrid stared at him, a little startled at his rage, but she quickly recovered. "Chief... it's not... it's not like that... Hiccup is stubborn. So stubborn, sometimes. No one could've persuaded Hiccup to come back- no one. I know it seems like this is all due to the hurricane- trust me, I want to blame someone, too… but things like this... they can't be controlled. _Dagur_ , however, just complicated things." She cracked her knuckles. "The next time I see him..."

Her glower said it all.

Stoick nodded, though it was a little hesitant. "Perhaps... perhaps you're right. But, lass, this is my _son_..." His voice faltered. "Seeing your child- that tiny creature you have been given responsibility for- unconscious, hurt, and perhaps _dying_..." He shook his head. "It's horrible. I thought I'd never have see him like this again..."

Astrid patted Stoick's shoulder. "I know. Me... me either." She then sagged, stifling a yawn. "I should get going... you should try and sleep, too. Rest can do you wonders. Plus... you look tired."

Stoick became conscious of the way he was drooping, and the burdensome bags under his eyes. The lass was right. He was exhausted. And if Hiccup hadn't woken up yet... well, maybe he could leave the boy for a couple of hours… just so he'd have enough strength to watch over Hiccup tomorrow...

"You're right," he agreed. "I'll sleep soon. Good night, lass."

Astrid bowed her head in respect. "Chief..." With one last glance at Hiccup, she exited.

Stoick reached over and stroked Hiccup's clammy forehead. "Goodnight, son... goodnight..."

He planted a quick kiss on the top of his son's head, then left.

* * *

 _Crack._

The fire popped, making the present Vikings jump.

It was the night before Snoggletog, but no one felt like celebrating. The remaining Riders had come to Stoick's house to check up on Hiccup one last time for the night, and ended up sitting by the fire. It was freezing outside, after all. The hurricane had brought in a blizzard, it seemed, making about everyone downcast.

Stoick sat in a gigantic armchair that was big enough to fit a man of his bulk. Astrid and Snotlout were seated on the couch, staring vacantly at the flames.

Snotlout shifted. He didn't like doing nothing, even now. "So... has Hiccup woken up anymore times?"

Stoick didn't even have enough energy to look at the Rider. "Once. Earlier today. I got him to drink some water... he was... he was in a feverish state. Didn't understand much. Gothi... Gothi says that if his fever doesn't break by tonight, he'll..."

The fire crackled again.

Astrid found herself sniffing and holding back tears.

Hiccup might die.

 _Hiccup might die._

Toothless moaned his lament. Stoick had to about drag him out of Hiccup's room to get him to leave. The Night Fury was weak from skipping meals, and couldn't protest much. He now lay by the fireplace, hiding something in his chest. No one had the vitality to ask what it was.

"Chief," said Snotlout quietly. "Hiccup... he'll make it. He's survived so much so far. Don't worry." But his usual confidence was gone, replaced by a sort of grief for his cousin.

Stoick closed his eyes, pained.

"I hope so. I truly hope so."

Toothless looked down at what he was shielding from the Riders.

Hiccup's helmet.

It was little banged up. Like Hiccup. Stubborn through time. Like Hiccup. But, quite battered… like Hiccup. Hopefully… hopefully, it wouldn't fall apart...

Toothless let out a soft and wistful whine.

The dragon missed Hiccup. So much. He wanted him. He wanted to open his eyes again and this all be a dream. A _nightmare_. They had never left Berk. They were memorializing the holiday. Happy. Joyful. _Safe._

Yes. That's what they _should_ have been doing.

The Night Fury's shoulders heaved with a sigh, and sadly, he curled tighter around the helmet.

* * *

 **No...**

 **No...**

 **NOT THE HELMET, TOOTHLESS! WHY THE HELMET?!**

 **ANYWAYS, thank you guys so much for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following! It means SO MUCH. We now have 84 reviews... GOSH, THAT'S SO MUCH. You guys want to aim for 100 by the end of this? I know I do! XD ...also, Eye of the Storm has hit novel length! Wow! *swipes forehead* I never dreamed it'd get this far.**

 **One more chapter... will Hiccup's fever break? Will the Riders bring back the dragons before Snoggletog arrives?** **Find out next chapter!**

 **Until then, have a great week! Thanks for viewing! :-)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello, you wonderful people...**

 ***sniff* This is the last chapter of Eye of the Storm! Wow. Somehow in my mind, I never really expected to get here. But now that I HAVE arrived... *sniffs again***

 **Shoutouts... for the last time... :-(**

 **thepurplewriter333: YES HICCUP IT'S TIME TO GET UP NOW! COME ON! GET UP! PUT YOUR HELMET BACK ON SO TOOTHLESS CAN BE CUTE AND LICK YOU! Yeeeesssss. The feels are... *fans self* Aw, yes... The Riders all have their different relationships with Hiccup... yes, yes, here is your update! *cowers* You don't need to start a riot- I'm here!**

 **Fantasygirl1329: YEEEESSSS. I am now so bored with all the extra time I have... I actually have been writing LESS since summer break started... dunno why... yes, high school did seem so far away when I was in 6th grade! Now... *shivers* ...it's coming up quick...! And, yes! Almost there. Yep. I don't know why I make comparisons like that, but they usually work out... :D**

 **phieillydinyia: FINALLY! Yes, OF COURSE! I, actually, am a twin myself, and am VERY annoyed when I'm paired up with my twin. Like, "HELLO! I'm a person, too!" We all have our individual things to say. Ruffnut is one of my favorite characters, too! One of my absolute favorite episodes of Dragons is Twintuition- Ruff has amazing sass that can challenge even Hiccup's! She can be really smart if she wants to. YEP. THE HELMET. *glares at Hiccup* You'd better wake up in time for Snoggletog, young man!**

 **FanWriter02: Yep. The FEEELLLLLSSSSSS... Yes! *fist bump* How to Write a Novel In a Month. (well, I actually wrote more if you think about all those one-shots and other stories I wrote... I think the last time I checked, I had written 94,000 words since April 18th... 0_0) Yeah, of course! Thanks so much for the cover! XD I LOVE IT!**

 **katurdi: Yes! Poor everybody... I can be so mean to my characters sometimes... Aw, thanks! Really? Perfect? *kicks rocks* AW SHUCKS... HICCUP, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE WAKE UP. DON'T DIE ON US, DRAGON BOY! *shrugs* We'll see if he makes it... hey, no spoiling The Last Flight for the fortunates who HAVEN'T read it! *glares back***

 **SunshineGirl14: Thank you! :D Hope you enjoy this last chapter!**

 **Hiccstridlover13: AH SORRY FOR MAKING YOU WAIT. My computer kept on glitching, and then the keyboard wouldn't work... took ALL DAY to write this, but I'm finally done! XD Thank you! That means so much!**

 **flopy: You did? Wow! Yes, I agree, sadness does bring humbleness. Bad situations can bring out the best in people... or the worst. In this case, it's the best, however, and I love writing it! :-)**

 **jessygirll03: (lots of responses for you, huh? :D)**

 **1\. Thanks! Yes... ONWARD.**

 **2\. HICCUPPPPPP... TOOTHLESS... who knows? We'll see!**

 **3\. AH YES POOR HICCUP. No spoilers! :D**

 **4\. "Daddy's coming." BEST DARN QUOTE OF THE YEAR. Thank you!**

 **5\. Hahaha, glad you liked it! NOOOO NOT HICCUP... *evil part of me laughs* _Yes, Hiccup..._**

 **6\. TOOOOTTTHLLLESSSSSSSS! Not. The. HELMET. Thank you! *waves hands* Woah, there, calm down... it's here... :-)** **  
**

 **Also, I wasn't feeling that great as I wrote this, so apologies for any mistypes or how cheesy I think it may be... FORGIVE ME.**

 **And now I give you the final chapter... *begins to sob***

* * *

 **Chapter 16:**

It was a strange feeling at first, like someone had been clasping his head tightly, and then slowly released the pressure to about nothing. Relieved of the pain, he lay panting for a moment, bits of nightmares flashing still flashing in his mind. He tried to ignore them, but it was hard, as he had spent days with only them as company.

 _Focus._

He breathed in and out through his nose. He was awake now. Fully. Only the faintest of artificial colors and sounds still clung to him.

He had, actually, been able to wake up before now, but was so tired. He knew his body needed rest. So he had slept… and slept… and slept some more. It was growing harder to force himself to return to unconsciousness, but he now knew that he was strong enough to get up, perhaps. At least open his eyes. It would be good to move around. He somehow processed that he had been in bed for a long time with not a lot of exercise beforehand. His muscles were tender, not liking the sudden movement after days of bedrest. But he had to try to get up, anyways. He felt it was important. There were people who wanted him to, and he never liked to disappoint.

So, pushing past his lingering exhaustion, Hiccup forced his eyes open. He was met with a wooden ceiling a few yards up from his face. Truthfully, it was a welcome sight, because one of the last memories Hiccup had of waking up was seeing a cold gray top, studded with holes that spat rain and snow. He shivered, though he was quite warm underneath his mass of blankets. He remembered now… he had been… _kidnapped_ … but how? _Why_?

Slowly, recollections of the past few weeks returned. Coming home for Snoggletog. His father having to leave. The hurricane. Johann's news. Flying off into the storm with his dragon… Toothless (he smiled at the name, which brought happy memories of his friend back). Searching. Flying. Fighting. Falling. A plan. Getting grabbed… _Dagur_ … jail. Interrogation. Seeing the Riders. Sleeping. Eating. Talking with Astrid… and hazy reminiscences of waking up with soft dousing the flames of his nightmares. He had drank a _lot_ of water during those fuzzy moments.

Hiccup let out a soft sigh.

It was time to get up now.

 _Come on, Hiccup, just a little bit at a time…_

He grunted.

 _Creak._

He was almost in a sitting position.

 _Thump._

Made it.

His head spun with a coming headache, but he pressed on. And he was glad he did, because the longer he stayed up, the more accustomed to the circumstances he felt. His head settled back to normal, and heartbeat steadied to a regular pace.

His gaze fluttered around the strange room he was in, scanning everything. There were boxes and little trinkets _everywhere_. Like presents… Hiccup reached forward and grabbed a nearby one, startled to realize it was addressed to him. With a jolt, he was aware that _all_ of these gifts were for him. A warm feeling filled his heart. His village had cared about him _this_ much? He couldn't fight down a smile. This... this was amazing... but... but _where_ was he?

After a moment, Hiccup fathomed that this was _his_ room. Gods, was his mind slow right now... he hadn't even recognized the place he had spent years working in...

With a considerable amount of effort, and slung his legs over the side of the bed, wincing slightly when his twisted foot touched the floor. He was surprised to feel a sort of cast around it, protecting it from further harm. It felt better than he remembered it feeling, and he knew he would be able to walk on it now.

Just as he started to stand up, Hiccup heard a rustling. He turned his head to see-

"TOOTHLESS!"

The Night Fury bounded over from his bed, tongue lolling happily. He practically flew over the bed to get to Hiccup, immediately beginning to lick him like a playful puppy would. Hiccup laughed, a rough sound due to misuse.

"Bud- buddy- Toothless- hey- okay, okay, I'm fine!" grinned Hiccup, trying to push away Toothless's muzzle, but not having enough strength to complete the effort. Nor did he want to. It was good to see his friend again.

After a minute of that, Toothless plopped down to a sitting position, regarding Hiccup with a toothless smile and a tail thump.

Hiccup chuckled. "I'm... happy I'm awake, too... wonder how long I've been out... feels like days... hey... can... can you help me up, bud?"

Toothless nodded energetically and moved to Hiccup's side. The Rider stood...

And immediately collapsed.

Fortunately, Toothless had been expecting this, and caught Hiccup. The boy patted Toothless's head, murmuring a thanks. He tried again, this time leaning on Toothless to be able to walk. The pair limped over to the door of Hiccup's room. Hiccup reached forward and turned the handle to open the door. Hiccup and Toothless then made their way out into the hall.

Hiccup sighed when he saw the stairs. "Of course... Toothless, buddy, could you-"

"Hiccup?"

Stoick's voice cracked out like a whip.

Hiccup turned so quickly he nearly fell again, but this time his father caught him and held him upright.

"I- son- Hiccup-" Stoick fumbled for the right words to say. Was this a dream? Was his son, that thoroughly unconscious figure on the bed last night, finally… _awake_?

Hiccup smiled, a missing light returning to his eyes. "Dad!"

Wordless, Stoick encased his son in a hug, lifting him off of the floor in the process. He hugged him tightly- _so tight_ \- because he hadn't known how much he had worried that he'd never be able to do this again. Hold Hiccup once when he was alive- a warm, happy, breathing body.

"Oh, _son_..."

He felt Hiccup tensing beneath the embrace. "Dad... it's good to see you, too, but... I'm eighteen years old now..." He more or less meant, _It's okay. You don't have to hug me._

Stoick grasped the Rider even more firmly. He didn't care that Hiccup was nearly a man. He had missed him _so much_ , that it didn't matter. "But you'll always be my son..."

Hiccup relaxed under his arms, leaning into the hug. However, he was rigid a moment later. When he spoke again, he sounded strained. "But, Dad... um... could you maybe give me a little air to breathe in?"

Stoick realized exactly _how_ tight he was holding Hiccup, and released him back to a standing position. Hiccup winced, rubbing his ribs. But then he looked up and grinned at his father, making Stoick beam in return. Because Hiccup was awake. _Hiccup was awake!_

"What...," began Hiccup, shifting. "...what happened? The last thing I remember is talking to Astrid in my cell..." His eyes widened. "Is everyone okay? I know that- that there was a battle or something... please tell me that no one was hurt..."

Stoick placed a comforting hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Everyone is perfectly fine, son. It's you who we've been worrying about." He gestured to Hiccup's hunching figure. "Look at yourself, Hiccup; you're as skinny as a fishbone, and can barely keep yourself upright."

Hiccup sighed at his description. "Thank you, for summing that up."

Stoick chuckled, a grin stretching across his face. It almost hurt, as he hadn't smiled since before he learned that Hiccup was in danger. "How are you feeling, anyways, son?" said Stoick, pushing past his anxious thoughts. That was the past. Hiccup was safe right now.

"Eh..." Hiccup shrugged. "Not too bad."

Toothless cooed, his ears pricking up with conviction. Stoick raised an eyebrow, and Hiccup's shoulders slumped.

"Fine... well... my chest is sore... and my foot... and my side... but only a little."

Stoick's brow creased. "Side?" Did Hiccup have _another_ injury? Fret raced through his mind.

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah... I got scratched a- a little... huh... a week ago?"

"You were unconscious a week ago."

Hiccup's fingers tapped against his leg nervously. He hadn't wanted his father to worry anymore than he already was. "Oh. Then two weeks ago. But it's almost healed, I promise." He smiled, and Stoick couldn't bare to press on while looking at the Rider's wide and seemingly innocent green eyes.

"Are you hungry?" Stoick asked, deciding not to continue the previous matter. They could talk about that later, if needed.

"I don't know... maybe... I feel sort of... _hollow_ , though."

Stoick nodded. "You've barely eaten anything for the past week. You need something in you. I could feel each of your ribs, son. And you must keep up your energy. How about we go to the Great Hall for breakfast? Everyone is already there."

"Why?" said Hiccup. Normally, the Hooligans just ate at their own homes.

Stoick looked confused, then realization dawned on his expression. "It's Snoggletog, son. We're having a feast there… I didn't want to leave you to sit in on it, but now that you seem strong enough to get around… if you feel up to it, we could go."

Hiccup was still stuck on the fact that he had been unconscious for so long.

"Snoggletog!" Hiccup gaped, blinking in surprise. "Then I've been asleep for..." He attempted to be nonchalant, failing dramatically. "...awhile..."

"Awhile, indeed," said Stoick. "Now, I don't think that ankle of yours is going to let you go down the stairs anytime soon... do you need help, Hiccup?"

A little reluctantly, Hiccup nodded. Stoick then gently helped his son walk down the stairs, Toothless trotting alongside the pair. Eventually, they made it. Hiccup tried to hide how much the effort had fluttered his heart, but Stoick knew and understood. The boy had just been in bed for a week, after all, and was still accumulating to the sudden changes.

Stoick quickly got a parka for Hiccup to wear, remembering Gothi's advice to keep him out of the cold to keep the pneumonia from worsening. Hiccup groaned that he didn't need a coat, making Stoick smile. This reminded him of when Hiccup was knee-high and trying to prove his independence. He didn't need help opening that jar. He could reach the doorknob just fine. And Stoick would chuckle every time.

Once Stoick was satisfied that his son was warm enough, the two departed from the house. Hiccup quivered in the chilly weather, but the parka helped a lot. He saw that snow covered the roofs of houses, as well as the ground. Toothless jumped around in it, batting the occasional flake that fell down. It was clear he hadn't left the Haddock home for awhile, and was enjoying the fresh air and outdoors. Hiccup was different, however. The wind bit into his frail figure, especially irritating his chest. Stoick noted this silently, and set the pace a little quicker to the Great Hall. Hiccup had a bit of a hard time catching up, but with his father and Toothless's help, he managed.

"So...," said Hiccup, not quite chattering, but there was a certain shiver to his voice. "...what... what exactly happened? I was stuck in a jail cell for awhile, and my captives didn't bring the best information."

Stoick nodded and began to explain his side of the story, starting with receiving the letter from Astrid. Hiccup listened intently to Stoick's tale. He felt ranging measures of high guilt upon learning how much everyone had done to find him. Stoick could tell his son felt bad about that, and tried to comfort him. After all, he would do anything for his boy. Even now, he had to pause and look over Hiccup, scarcely believing his son was actually _here_. It had been nearly three weeks since he had seen him conscious, and he was overjoyed to hear his son's sarcastic quirks and see his intelligent green eyes. Those things had been traits of Hiccup's since he was just a wee lad, and no matter how much Hiccup's appearance changed, those things would stay.

By the time the chief had finished the story, they had arrived at the Great Hall. Hiccup was relieved. The wind had picked up in the last few minutes, and even Stoick's story, or even Toothless's cute antics with the snow couldn't distract him from the cold.

Hiccup leaned on Toothless while Stoick walked up and opened the doors for him. Hiccup murmured a thanks, then was helped inside.

Vikings looked up from the tables to see who had just entered. Dead silence hung over them as they all stared at Hiccup.

The Rider swallowed in his nervousness. Had he done something wrong? Did he look weird? He had, after all, been asleep for awhile, and hadn't been able to take care of the necessities. Maybe his hair was sticking up or something...

"Uh... h-hi, th-"

A thunderous amount of cheering cut him off. Hooligans grinned at him, clapping, whooping, and stomping their feet. Hiccup stood, stunned, for a minute while they celebrated. Stoick placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder, giving his son a smile.

"Finally stealing the crowd away, eh?" said Stoick, ruffling Hiccup's hair good-naturedly. "Not like you haven't before."

Eventually, the applause stopped, and Vikings began to swarm at him, rambling off how glad they were to see him, what they had done while Hiccup was gone, and asking how he was. Hiccup tried to answer as best as he could, but it was a little hard with all of the people crowding him.

Stoick had to yell for people to give the hero some space for them to back off, and Hiccup was grateful. Having just woken up from a long period of unconsciousness, all of the craziness was difficult to process.

Just a few moments after Stoick's order, Hiccup felt something punch his arm. And hard. Though his thick coat covered him, he yelped and turned around.

Astrid was standing behind him, her hands on her hips and sporting an angry expression. "That's for scaring me," she said, folding her arms.

The Dragon Rider rubbed the injured spot, though it didn't hurt as much as it did when he was fifteen. "Is it _always_ going to be like this?"

But he was secretly elated to see Astrid again. His last memories of her was a worried young woman on the verge of tears.

There was an unspoken question in the air between the two... Hiccup wondered if what had happened the past few times Astrid had hit him would happen again...

Astrid looked him over once. Hiccup's heart flew. She was going to...

...and then pivoted away. Hiccup wilted with disappointment. He had been expecting a-

Suddenly, Astrid whirled around and grabbed Hiccup, pulling him in. She pressed her lips to his for two heart-stopping seconds, then broke away.

"That's... that's for staying alive," said Astrid.

Hiccup stared in bewildered awe, and Astrid's cheeks flushed slightly.

"I could get used to it," Hiccup grinned.

Astrid couldn't suppress a smile, and she threw her arms around his shoulders. "I've missed you, dragon boy," she whispered into his ear.

Hiccup tried to return the hug, though he was still pretty weak. "Me too..."

A gust of wind unexpectedly blew through them, and Hiccup quaked. The pair pulled away from each other to see where the rush had come from, and saw that the Great Hall door was open. And a few familiar people stood there.

"Fishlegs!" said Hiccup, startled. "Ruff, Tuff..."

The threesome gaped at him.

"We thought you might've _died_ while we were gone!" Tuffnut blurted, oblivious to how blunt his comment was.

Hiccup chose to ignore that, but squinted at the last part. "I- wait- why were you gone?"

He was answered by a stampede of dragons stumbling inside, practically knocking over a few stray Vikings in the effort to get to their riders.

"The dragons left!" Hiccup heard Fishlegs yell over the din. "We- the twins and I- went after them a couple of days ago to bring them back in time for Snoggletog!"

By now, Fishlegs had made his way over to Hiccup, and hugged his friend once. "You had us worried, Hiccup! Pneumonia... phew... don't scare us like that again!" But he wore a relieved smile.

"I'll try," Hiccup said. "Yet trouble seems to find me no matter what I do."

"Son!" Stoick's voice wafted over from a nearby table. "Come and sit! You must be tired from the hike here."

Hiccup nodded. He was exhausted- yet only physically. He didn't want to sleep any longer, but couldn't stand up too long, either. "Sure," he replied, and with his friends and Toothless helping him walk, he made it to his father's table. His friends sat down around him. Snotlout was already there, and offered Hiccup a sideways smirk.

"Glad you're up, cuz," Snotlout greeted, which, for him, was practically a hug.

Hiccup smiled. "Thanks, Snotlout."

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it or anything."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Attention!" Stoick bellowed to his tribe, standing to make his presence known. The Vikings silenced after a couple of moments, then turned to look at their chief.

Stoick continued, "I'd like to say a couple of things before we begin our Snoggletog feast...

"Lately, this hasn't been a very happy time of year. One of the biggest hurricanes the archipelago has ever seen threatened my life- and my son's. It caused Hiccup here to contract pneumonia in an effort to save me. Yes, this hasn't been like the other Snoggletogs at all... yet as we sit here, together and as safe as can be, I feel that this =... is one of the best."

He cast a fond look down at his son, then reached for his cup and held it firmly.

"I'd like to dedicate this meal to Hiccup, my son, who risked everything just to make sure I was alright." Stoick smiled at the Rider. "No one could be more honored.. or more _proud_ than I am." He lifted his cup to the ceiling, and boomed, "To Hiccup!"

"To Hiccup!" the Hooligans repeated, all of their voices mixing together into one powerful vibration.

Hiccup felt his cheeks burning at the attention and couldn't fight back a grin. His fifteen year-old self had dreamt of this moment for so long, when his tribe would finally recognize him with pride, and not disappointment. Over the years, that dream had faded. He didn't need glory, nor wanted it. But, now, he couldn't help but be happy. He was surrounded by friends and family, his tribe and dragons... it was perfect. _This_ was perfect.

He looked around at everyone. Astrid, who was patting her newly returned Stormfly, Fishlegs squealing as he hugged Meatlug, Ruff and Tuff debating the best way to explode things, Snotlout reluctantly scratching Hookfang's chin and smiling, his father laughing at the lightheartedness of the room, and... Toothless. That wonderful dragon who had made all of _this_ possible.

Hiccup rubbed Toothless's head, then eventually leaned forward and hugged the Night Fury.

"Thank you, bud," he whispered, an indescribable appreciation bursting inside of him. "I couldn't have done this without you."

Toothless rumbled softly in response.

Hiccup pulled away a moment later, a permanent beam stuck on his face. Gods, he had never known such euphoria in his life.

And as Stoick raised his cup to toast to the New Year, Hiccup knew that everything would turn out alright.

It always did, after all.

Because it was… an occupational advantage.

One that Hiccup would hold dear to his heart for years to come. For the hardest times. For the longest days.

For always.

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed this story, for I enjoyed writing it!**

 **THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of your lovely reviews, follows, and favorites. Through my hardest times, just scrolling through the reviews you guys left would bring me comfort and joy. FanFiction has been a blessing to me. Thank you all so much for being a part of it! And thank you to those who just silently read- everyone is appreciated in my eyes.**

 **Eye of the Storm has about 4,700 views now! WOW! That's SO MUCH! I could never dream of that many people viewing my work... :-) THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! XD**

 **Well... I guess this is the end now, isn't it? The end of Eye of the Storm... *wipes tear away***

 **Goodbye, everyone! Thank you for sticking with my through this journey. This experience has been _indescribable_. Thank you.**

 **And, as I always say...**

 **Until the next.**

 **:-)**


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